ARARAT College students have launched a website for their media students, granting them valuable industry experience.
The website launched three weeks ago and is the result of out-of-hours media and journalism classes attracting a growing number of students.
The classes began two years ago and have evolved to boast the website, a news studio complete with green screen and teleprompter, and the AC News team which covers local stories.
Year 10 student, Jack Ward led the push to get the classes running and now leads the college news team.
"We launched our website- ACNews.cf - and that allows us to do written content," he said.
"We're on Facebook now as well and we're just practising our skills and keeping the community informed."
The journey from small after-school class to fully equipped newsroom began with one assignment.
"Back in 2016 I was in year 7 and in our English class one of our assessment areas was journalism," Jack said.
"That was the first time we'd even touched on something that related (to journalism) at school and the following year ... I said it would be good to continue this in an actual form."
Initially the students launched on Instagram but things quickly took off.
"Since then we've purchased around eight thousand dollars worth of equipment - video equipment and we have our own studio now, green screen, lights, two cameras, editing computers and software and last year we purchased a teleprompter as well," Jack said.
"Our team has grown. We started off with about six students and now we're up to 25. We also have a journalism class which has similar numbers.
"I think people just like to do something and say 'I'm a part of that' and 'I put that together, I edited that piece, I wrote that script' and be proud of it."
There have been other benefits to students too.
"Some of the people in AC News started with us and were really shy, and now they've really come out of their comfort zones," Jack said.
"Obviously journalists have to talk to people a lot and some people weren't comfortable with that and now they can ring people and talk to people they've never met as well."
Year seven student Tylah Wallis said she joined the after-hours class to develop two interests.
"I really want to be a photographer because last year on camp I took a photo and my friends said it looked like a photographer's work; then I started writing because I really like writing."
Other students focus on writing game reviews, movie reviews, video editing or graphic design.
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