Journalism students not spooked about testing their skills

Journalism students at the University of Derby have been honing their interview and writing skills at a Halloween-themed attraction.

A group of 15 students from the university’s BA Journalism and Specialist Sports Journalism course were recently treated to a unique opportunity to test out their interviewing skills at Screamfest, which is based at the National Forest Adventure Farm, near Burton.

During the visit, they learned about how the popular attraction brings its frightening ‘scream park’ to life, watching demonstrations by its head make-up artist, finding out about the design and inspiration for the sets, as well as meeting some of the 100 actors who roam the attractions each night.

Niall Hickman, senior lecturer in Journalism at the University of Derby, said: “As journalists you never know what you will face so it was great to offer students an insight into what a future career in journalism could include.

“Real life experience like this is invaluable in helping them to understand how to interview and tease out the right information to produce that compelling story.

“Developing close relationships with major local businesses in this way also means our students build great contacts to use once they graduate and go on to work within the media across the UK.

“We would like to thank the Screamfest team for their time and hospitality for making this happen for our students.”

Ivor Robinson, who owns the scream park with brother Tom, said: “As a family-run farm attraction, we have always been very passionate about helping to support students and young people to develop their skills.

“Screamfest is an experience like no other, so it is great to be able to share our knowledge and let future generations of journalists get a glimpse into what goes in to creating Halloween fright nights full of fun and shocks each year.

“We are fortunate to have a very knowledgeable and talented team who are very passionate about delivering the very best experience, so it was great to give students the opportunity to test their skills and find out more about what we do.”