Camberwell students celebrate work experience at magazine publisher

The work experience was the culmination of a 10-week design programme where the students, from Archbishop Michael Ramsey Technology College, learned the tricks of the trade from the AMRTC new media instructor Ralph Canning and some of IPC Media's most respected designers.

The students, aged between 15 and 16, each had their own mini-projects that saw them researching individual magazines, presenting to art teams and work shadowing designers. The students also put their newly-learned design skills into practice, designing pages for a range of top-class IPC magazines including Marie Claire, What's on TV, World Soccer, Cage & Aviary Birds and Pick Me Up.

"We're delighted with this first round of the Schools' Design Programme," commented Taryn Barclay, IPC Media's corporate responsibility manager. "The students have come away with a real grounding in design and we could be unearthing the next generation of world-class magazine designers!"

IPC's Schools' Design Programme was launched in conjunction with Creative Partnerships, the government initiative that aims to promote creative learning. Judy Nagle of Creative Partnerships adds: "This direct contact with design professionals offers a valuable insight into the work of the creative industries and contributes to our wider aims of raising students' aspirations and enabling them to fulfil their potential."

Anifa, one of the students on the programme, comments: "As an art student, I've always admired the layout of magazines, especially when it comes to how the designers know what colour to use. This gave me the opportunity to see how that process works."