College unveils new media building with own TV studio

STUDENTS at The Henley College can now shoot and edit videos and podcasts and develop photographs at a new media hub.

The D6 building, at the Deanfield campus, which was previously the college library, has been redeveloped as part of a £2.8 million project.

Inside is a MacBook suite, television studio and control gallery for live editing, a photography studio and dark room, a podcasting studio and an ICT room.

The building also includes classrooms, a technician’s office, staff room and toilets and a music studio will also open from September.

The library has been relocated to the former media studies classrooms at the college’s Rotherfield site.

Principal Simon Spearman said that the hub would help enable the college to equip its students with “industry-standard” skills.

He said: “It’s an amazing facility that has upgraded everything we had previously. It means that the students are undertaking their learning on the right kit and they are moving from the college to university and to the media industry, having used all the up-to-date equipment.”

Mr Spearman said that it was beneficial for the students to have all media facilities in the same place, rather than dotted around the campus as it was previously and has meant the library could be upgraded.

He added: “It has created an amazing space that’s going to become a significant learning centre for students.”

Tom McBain, 16, who is studying media, production and broadcast, described the new facilities as “university-standard”. He said: “I love the studio. The gallery is primarily where I will be working because I’m doing the broadcast side of things.

“For my final major project, I’m doing a live game show, so I’ll be live editing that and directing it.

“Our old studio was an ex-classroom so, height-wise, it was very minimal. There was a separate control room but it was quite outdated.”

Tom said he, along with other students, had already been trained in the studio to use the lighting, vision mixer and the sound desk. He has also been taught how to load up scripts on the autocue and how to use the sound desk and the talkback system. “I’ve learnt quite a lot already in the two weeks we have had it,” Tom said.

Department head Sarah Wilson said: “This is miles away from what we had — just a million times better. It’s just bigger, better, nicer, easier, fresher and it looks nicer to work in.

“Our old television studio was only eight years old but, as time moves on, the technology has moved on. It was a bit redundant and it was a bit small,

“Photography was in three different rooms, in three different locations, so we were all over the place. Having it all together in one building helps us massively because the students tend to do the same courses and this becomes their building.”

Ms Wilson said that the media courses were popular at the college. She said: “We've got a creative world out there now. It’s hard work but it’s also fun and is what people want to do as a passion.”

Eamonn Eagan, the college’s outgoing vice-principal, was pleased to see the project completed having submitted the bid for the project.

He said: “We consulted with students, consulted with industry and I think we’ve come up with a really fantastic studio. We’re really very pleased with the outcome.”

Mr Eagan said that he believed the best way to ensure the students at the college were ready for employment was to inspire them to make the right choices.

He said: “Making a pathway from an education setting into an industry is always a difficult business. You want to give students choice and let them make their own decisions. We see our role as inspiring students so that they know they’ve learnt the skills they need to work in an industry that they're thinking about going into.

“We want them to have confidence and know they’ll be successful when they get there.”

Town councillor Rory Hunt, who cut the ribbon to open the facility as mayor, said: “I’m genuinely overwhelmed. I was expecting to see a renovated space, not an entirely new creative building on this scale.

“What’s here is extraordinary, and comparable with facilities I’ve seen at universities. Henley students are incredibly lucky to have this right on their doorstep.”