DRPG have always believed in nurturing the next generation of talent, whether it be through work experience, educational talks, apprenticeships or even charitable giving via sponsorships.
Learning and development is embedded in our culture and we strive to share our creative passion by making ‘anything possible’. In January 2020, the DRPG Academy launched our SPARKS campaign to encourage students to engage with the creative industries.
DRPG SPARKS offers free lesson plans for teachers, worksheets, videos and presentations to bring to life, the exciting world of the creative agency through curriculum aligned educational content. The SPARKS programme was designed to help pupils aged 11-16 discover how they can use their school skills to deliver amazing and exciting communications projects while exploring the creative industry.
For the past few months, local schools have been using the online material to complement lesson plans and provide an understanding of our industry. Now, during these challenging times, our Academy team have been working hard to repurpose the support material, making it available to clients and a wider audience, so that parents can use it at home as part of the new home-schooling wave.
For us to share the SPARKS lessons with clients, we have filmed each lesson with Tommy Moore, one of our creative directors and an ex-teacher, to provide students with a full lesson to work through from home. The videos have been created to allow time to pause and complete tasks and extension activities. We are also providing parents with the lesson plans to further support their children to complete each lesson.
Tommy Moore spearheaded the initiative and its repurposing during the Covid-19 crisis, "We crafted SPARKS to help pupils realise that their school skills can open the door to amazing careers in industries they love - such as music festivals, vlogging, branding or app building. Our job in the programme is to deliver that lightbulb moment where pupils realise their own unlimited potential. Having worked with pupils with behaviour difficulties and those falling through the gaps in education, I know that SPARKS offers the chance to recapture those pupil's attention and help theming their own creative spark. Now it can be used as a great resource for parents at home to help inspire their children in these strange times.”
Each of the six lesson plans is based around the creative work we do at DRPG and helps pupils see the full potential of their skills in Maths, English, Media, Business, Design and IT.
English: Explore how writing online works; what makes you found by Google and how to make a killer blog or vlog using cutting edge digital English.
Business studies:Discover how to ideate, plan, deliver and measure a marketing campaign that makes a difference on a global scale.
Design:Think you've got what it takes to make people think and feel differently? Explore how design can really shape brands, products and services.
Maths: Want to plan the next Glastonbury, Reading or Coachella? Discover how maths makes a big difference when it comes to putting on an unmissable show.
Digital: What makes people love Uber, Google or Spotify? We explore how UX (User Experience) is a game changer in the digital world.
Media studies: Uncover the art of the viral video. Learn the pro skills and attributes needed to take your video to the top of the viewing charts.
For more information on the SPARKS programme check out our recent DRPG bitesize talk hosted by Tommy Moore or to access the SPARKS programme click here
