Jill Dando Lecture

Story by Georgina Mann, 15, Jill Dando reporter at The King Alfred School, an Academy (TKASA)

Over 100 students hear first ever annual Jill Dando Lecture at launch of the latest news centre in her name - further boosting positivity, literacy and wellbeing.

Enthusiastic students have launched a new state-of-the-art Jill Dando News Centre (JDNC) at The King Alfred School, an Academy, to report on inspirational children, people and events to the wider community. 

Jill’s brother Nigel gave the first ever Jill Dando Lecture which will become an annual event, giving tips on journalism and encouraging students to find more good news.

The centre, themed ‘good news worldwide’, has been set up in memory of Jill Dando, an inspirational and successful journalist born in Weston-Super-Mare, who died in April 1999 aged only 37. Other centres were launched in Jill’s old school, Worle Community School, and Priory Community School over the past year.

Now her legacy lives on with hundreds of good news stories coming out of TKASA, found and written by students themselves. 

The JDNC will further help boost positivity, literacy, and well being.

It is an exciting time for the JDNC to be launched, with months of good news coming out of the TKASA and excellent GCSE results.

Year 10 student Izzy Simmons said: “As part of this assembly of talented people, I feel privileged to be part of it and I look forward to the future of the Jill Dando News Team."

English teacher Ali Wray, said: “This is such an amazing venture. Today was fantastic and I am looking forward to all our future events. The students were incredible and today will be an event they remember for ever.”

Principal Nathan Jenkins said: “It has been a wonderful year for TKASA and this is a tremendous way to end it. The students are so excited to find all the good news stories out of their school.”