In January 2020, 15 students took part in a TY Media Week programme with Ocean FM. In this segment, we're joined by Allison Doyle and Muriel Herzog to talk about what transition year means to students. A year, put in place to help students "explore new interests, career options and get more involved with the community", is a comment from one of the students who feels strongly about the importance of the opportunity. This is an opinion shared by the majority of the group, with one student commenting on the common misconception being a "doss year" and voicing their views to make a change to the way people see TY.
When asked what they might change about TY, students were forthcoming, to say the least, in their responses. Some interesting suggestions included a survey to be carried out by teachers to ascertain a common goal shared by students in their pursuit of a more tailored approach to their TY. This ties into another student's wishes to "make TY more personal" - an approach which would allow students more freedom to embrace their individualism by giving them influence in the formation of their curriculum. If students were given the chance to weigh in, we could see an almost certain uptake in the amount of practical learning. One student reckons that "we do 5 years of school anyway, with books and writing, so we should try new things".
Overall, the students want to see an academic environment that embraces communication and facilitates everyone's desires for education. The general consencus is that it's a rewarding opportunity, but could be streamlined to make it even better, due to its massive potential. Reflecting on her experience at Ocean FM, Muriel emphatically states "I'm so much more independant and I would recommend TY to everyone! It's such a great year and such a great opportunity. You should definitely try it".