Sky Academy Scholarships Providing mentoring and financial support for emerging talent in sports, arts and TV.

Sky Sports Living for Sport Using sports skills and stars to build confidence and life skills in schools.

Sky AcademyA unique set of initiatives.

Opportunity and inspiration for young people.

Building skills, experience and self-belief.

Believe in better.

Sky Academy Skills Studios Going behind the scenes at Sky for an interactive learning experience.

Sky Academy Starting Out Opening up Sky to young people through work experience, employment and development.

At Sky, we want to use our position as a leading media and communications company to make a positive impact on society. A whole generation has been born since Sky’s launch in 1989. So, as our 25th anniversary approaches in early 2014, we’ve decided to focus on supporting young people in Britain and Ireland.

Introducing Sky Academy Our ambition is to create opportunities for up to one million young people to build skills and experience by 2020.

Building skills and nurturing talent is of course an important part of long-term success in business. And it’s equally vital for society as a whole. We want to play our part in giving young people the help and opportunities they need to succeed in a changing world.

That’s where Sky Academy comes in. It’s a unique and ground-breaking set of initiatives that uses the power of television, creativity and sport to inspire young people and help them reach their potential. Sky Academy will make the most of our strengths in media and technology as well as the passion and expertise of our people. And it will link up with schools and other organisations

and work with inspirational role models from the world of TV, sport and the arts.

Just as Sky Academy is all about encouraging the under-25s to aim high, we also want to make a big impact. Our ambition is to create opportunities for up to one million young people to build skills and experience by 2020.

Head-quartered in a brand new building at the heart of our West London campus, Sky Academy will comprise initially of four initiatives: Sky Academy Skills Studios, Sky Sports Living for Sport, Sky Academy Scholarships and Sky Academy Starting Out. A fifth, built around creativity and the arts, will follow

in 2014. Together, these initiatives will create opportunities for under-25s across Britain and Ireland, and bring more of this generation into our business to build their skills and gain valuable experience.

Sky Academy is part of our approach to building a better business for the long term. We know that simply being good for Sky is not enough. For lasting success, we must be good for our customers, employees, partners and the wider community. We call this seeing the bigger picture and it’s a core part of our ‘Believe in better’ ethos.

Through our day-to-day operations, we make a significant and growing economic and social contribution to Britain and Ireland. But we want to do more and reach further beyond our business. Sky Academy is one of the ways in which we do this.

I’d like to invite you to find out more about what Sky Academy will offer, and to get involved.

Jeremy Darroch Chief Executive

Mentors and role models have always been important to me. When I was young, they helped me to believe in myself and gave me the confidence to follow my dreams. That’s what Sky Academy will do and I’m excited to be a part of it.

David Beckham Sky Academy Ambassador

When you step inside Sky Academy Skills Studios, you’re swept up by the excitement of what TV can do. Kids of any age can get creative, work as a team, learn and have fun. It’s hard to imagine a school day better than this.

Eamonn Holmes Sky News presenter

Being awarded a Sky Academy Arts Scholarship has been totally trans formative for my work. The funding, combined with the wealth of knowledge and experience from my Sky and arts industry mentors has helped me in ways I couldn’t ever have imagined.

Kate Whitley Creative producer and musician

The partnership between Sky and MAMA Youth Project is changing the lives of many disadvantaged young people, helping them into careers in the media they aspired to, but never thought possible.

Bob Clarke Founder, MAMA Youth Project

When I was young, I got the chance to do something I loved. And what I learnt through sport helps me in my life. Every time I meet with students, I am inspired by what they’re achieving through Sky Sports Living for Sport.

Jessica Ennis-Hill Sky Sports Living for Sport Ambassador

Sky Academy Skills Studios offered students from Ashcroft Technology Academy a hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology. By making a TV report about bullying on social media networks, they were able to tackle a topic that was hard to teach in the classroom.

Their teacher, Sue Bryer, told us: “The students displayed great communication skills, exploring the implications of cyber-bullying and also delving into the measures that could be taken to help combat it. I saw completely different sides to some of them, which will really aid their development back at school.”

Technology in action

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Sky Academy Skills Studios is the interactive learning experience that takes schools behind the scenes at Sky. Students build life skills by using our state-of-the-art technology to make a TV news report on subjects they’re studying through the curriculum.

Almost 14,000 young people aged 8 to 18 have visited our first Skills Studios in West London since it opened in 2012. Teachers tell us that the experience helps students to develop skills like teamwork, communication and creativity.

To provide opportunities for even more young people, we are going to open three more Sky Academy Skills Studios. The next will launch in Livingston, Scotland, in 2014, and will be followed by two other locations in subsequent years.

For Olivia Breen, who was born with cerebral palsy, being awarded a Sky Academy Scholarship is a significant step towards realising her dreams.

At 15, Olivia started training with the Women’s UK Paralympics relay team and, just over a year later, was part of the team that won bronze at London 2012. Now 17, she has her sights set on becoming a full-time athlete and winning a Paralympic gold medal.

She’s also fulfilling her other passion, sharing what she has learnt to inspire disabled young people, showing them what can be achieved through sport.

Right on track

Sky Academy Scholarships is a bursary scheme that supports some of the most exciting emerging talent in the worlds of sport and the arts. As well as financial backing, the scholarships provide assistance and mentoring from Sky’s staff and other experts.

Already the support of a Sky Academy Scholarship has helped more than 30 young artists and athletes to achieve their goals. Recipients have come from the full breadth of sport and the arts, spanning fields as diverse as opera and gymnastics.

Building on this success, we’re now extending the scholarships with the launch of a new, third strand. Working with the National Film and Television School, we are creating six brand new production and digital scholarships for young people starting their careers in TV.

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Kayleigh Padda wanted to get straight into work after finishing her A levels. When Sky visited her school to talk about work experience, a career in the media industry seemed like a perfect opportunity.

After being offered a paid work placement at Sky, she got the chance to work in different areas of the business and discovered how much she enjoyed marketing. She successfully applied for a Marketing Apprenticeship and, alongside the experience she gets at work every day, she’s now studying towards a marketing diploma at Ravensbourne College, funded by Sky.

Kayleigh says her placement gave her a great start: “It gave me real confidence and got me used to being at work, which was a big change from school. Today, I’m working on NOW TV at the cutting edge of internet TV and I love it!”

Learning on the job

Sky Academy Starting Out opens up Sky to young people, offering work experience and employment opportunities to help raise their aspirations and prepare them for the world of work.

To match the needs of young people at different stages in their journey from education to employment, we offer a range of work experience, placement, apprenticeship and graduate programmes. As part of this, we work with organisations like MAMA Youth Project, which helps disadvantaged young people into work through training in broadcast media skills.

Over the next three years, we will double the number of opportunities available across the business, helping create the next generation of talent at Sky and giving more young people a head start in their careers. In addition, we plan to launch a brand new programme giving teenagers the opportunity to spend a day at Sky for a hands-on experience of the workplace.

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Sky Sports Living for Sport is the award-winning schools initiative that uses sports stars and sports skills to help build young people’s confidence and life skills. Our dedicated team of 80 Athlete Mentors, led by Jessica Ennis-Hill and Darren Campbell, kick-start each project by sharing inspiring stories from their own lives.

Delivered in partnership with Youth Sport Trust and teachers, Sky Sports Living for Sport is now in its 10th year. One-third of British secondary schools are now participating and the initiative has recently launched in Ireland to extend its reach even further.

It has a measurable impact on young people’s lives, with teachers reporting a boost in self-confidence in 96% of participants and 90% showing improved attitudes to learning.

Wayne Instrell of Bedford Academy was named the Sky Sports Living for Sport Student of the Year in 2013.

When Wayne was having a tough time, Sky Sports Living for Sport gave him something to focus on. He was chosen to join a learn to swim project and his confidence grew as he faced his fears, supported by England Rugby player Maggie Alphonsi, his Athlete Mentor, and his teacher and school friends.

Back in the classroom, Wayne was able to turn things around. He’s seen what sport can do and now he’s inspiring others, taking the lead in coaching younger students and encouraging them to believe in what they can achieve.

Change your game

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Aakash Odedra, dancer and Sky Academy Scholarship recipient

What’s next? We’re excited about Sky Academy and the opportunity to support young people across Britain and Ireland. This is just the beginning and we have big ambitions to do more.

We’re working with author and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg to help develop our next Sky Academy initiative. It will use creativity and the arts to inspire young people, building on the successful partnerships we’ve developed through Sky Arts.

Many young people lack opportunities to help them realise their potential. The arts and media are an area that young people are fascinated by. I’m delighted about Sky Academy and I’m very much looking forward to being part of this bold step forward.

Melvyn Bragg Author and broadcaster

British Sky Broadcasting Grant Way, Isleworth Middlesex TW7 5QD

Telephone 0333 100 0333

Get involved

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@SkyAcademy

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