By Tabora Bojang
Pupils of SBEC Bilingual School Wednesday visited The Standard newspaper on an educational trip and excursion.
The pupils made the visit accompanied by a senior teacher, Peter Gomez, who explained in detail the motive behind their visit.
He said the visit forms part of the school’s curriculum, which seeks to provide an opportunity for the children to explore beyond the walls of the classroom.
The pupils wanted to learn the processes involved in communication, news gathering and news writing.
Mr Gomez said it would help them to “pick up the objectives of the curriculum and further build their interest to becoming good writers and journalists in the near future”.
Aunty Binta, also a teacher, said all the visiting children are aspiring journalists “with huge interest for writing”.
The Standard publisher, Sheriff Bojang, led the young learners and teachers on a conducted tour of the Standard’s offices and facilities.
A seasoned journalist, Bojang gave a detailed background of the mission and vision of the Bakau-based newspaper, which first hit the newsstands as an independent privately owned newspaper in August 2010, and has since been making headways and “setting standards in Gambian journalism”.
He said the company currently employs about 40 staff including journalists, managers, editors, accountants, web-masters, designers, printers and distributors amongst others.
He explained in detail the processes involved in gathering news from “sourcing to the final production”.
Brimming with passion and excitement, the children raised series of questions for clarity into respective areas of interest in communication and newspaper publication.
SBEC International School is the first Cambridge-accredited institution in The Gambia, and is one of the leading schools setting standards for education in the country.
The school is a member of the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA).
