Why schools should have a hyper-local blog

Or a hyper-local Substack newsletter

Photo of the inside of the Holborn Viaduct in London, by Terry Freedman. Who did the drawing? What became of Thorowood? What is or was dry salting?

Many years ago there was a television series in Britain called “The Cres”. Short for “The Crescent”, the series followed the day-to-day lives of the fictional residents of a street somewhere in England. Most episodes were engaging and humorous, and made compelling viewing. An article I read some years ago reminded me of this, and made me think that a “hyperlocal” blog could work really well for a school.

When I say “blog”, I am using that as shorthand for any other kind of newsletter. In particular, it strikes me that Substack makes it really easy for a teacher to set up a school newsletter, or a class newsletter, and add students as contributors or at least their bylines.¹

By “hyperlocal” I mean, incredibly local. Not merely the same town, but the local neighbourhood, and even the same street. If I had the time, I’d start one up myself. You might think there wouldn’t be enough material to sustain a blog of that nature, but there almost certainly would. For example, one of our neighbours used to be a cab driver, and what cab driver does not have many (tall) stories to tell? Another used to bake cakes for weddings until ill health intervened. Baking a cake to be shared by 200 people is completely different from baking a cake to be consumed by a family of four². Yet another neighbour is the representative of the local Neighbourhood Watch, in which role she liaises with local police and other residents³.

What would be the benefits of a hyperlocal blog for a school? For me, as well as the journalistic and digital technology skills it would help to develop, there would also be the possibilities of rich connections, both with other subjects and with people and organisations outside the school. For example:

• What does baking a cake for 200 people involve? Can you use some sort of cake template, or mechanise at least part of the process? That sort of questioning could provide links with Design & Technology. Do you charge for the ingredients up front, or invoice the clients afterwards? How does your decision affect your cash flow? How do you advertise your services, and what do you offer that is better than an off-the-shelf wedding cake?  You can see the possible links with Business Studies.

• What is the most prevalent crime in the area, and how can people protect themselves? (Citizenship/PHSE)

• What is the best sort of journey, from an earnings point of view, as far as a cab driver is concerned? For example, is it one that involves a long journey in terms of miles, but a short one in a traffic jam? (Maths/ numeracy, Business Studies)

• Writing would have to be planned, and then written up in the most appropriate style for the readership (which will have to be defined in advance), and proofread. (English/literacy)

• You could link up with the local newspaper. Local newspapers are always looking for fillers – interesting news items that will fill a space. Unlike the national newspapers, they’re interested in local issues. That much is obvious, but what counts as an “issue” for a local newspaper can be very different from a national one.

• Why shouldn’t the school’s citizen journalists contribute to issues of local interest? (English/literacy).

• What about street names, statues and names on buildings of long-defunct firms? All provide insight into a place’s history, and can make for fascinating reading.

Local issues don’t have to be about crises. If the florists down the road from the school decides to spend a week specialising in only red, white and blue flowers, to celebrate a Royal event, that is of local interest. If one of the local takeaways decides to use only recycled packaging, that is of interest. If a local shop owner has decided to retire and hand over the reins to his daughter, that is of local interest.

In practical terms, if you were going to start a hyperlocal blog in a school, you would need to amend “the rules” slightly. After all, you couldn’t have a lesson in which all of your class were knocking on strangers’ doors to ask about their private lives! The blog would have to have two aspects I think: a local (to the school itself) aspect that involved dealing with organisations, so guest visits, Zoom interviews and class trips could be arranged on an official basis. For example, within a mile radius of the school down the road there are two other primary (elementary) schools, two secondary (high) schools, a local newspaper and a library, and a short stretch of road full of shops. That means there is plenty of “material” for the school to be getting on with if it started a hyperlocal blog.

The more personal aspect would have to be redefined to be local to the students rather than the school. It wouldn’t be exactly the same, but you’d derive similar benefit to those suggested above. If each student interviewed one neighbour per term, then a class of 30 students would, at least in theory, provide enough material for 30 blog posts. Assuming one published each day, that’s around half a term’s blog posts sorted out.

A project like this could also be extended in other ways:

• Art students could design the graphic elements of the blog.

• Students will need to provide photos, and possibly videos.

• Why not extend the idea of reporting into video reporting, for a weekly school news bulletin or a national project such as the BBC’s School Report?

• It could be linked to local fund-raising issues.

• You could invite guest posts by local councillors.

• You could record and then write up interviews with local residents (Local History?).

I think I’ve only scratched the surface here. I’m sure you can think of even more benefits of a hyperlocal blog.

The article I read which inspired this article was: Five things The New York Times learned from its three-year hyperlocal experiment. I hope you enjoyed reading it. As always, please leave a comment. Do you think this is a good idea? Is it doable?

1. Given the appropriate permissions from (a) the powers-that-be in school and (b) parents and (c ) if this doesn’t contravene Substack’s rules. I haven’t looked into that, so this is very much a case of caveat emptor if you decide to go ahead with the idea.

2. I was once asked to carry one of these creations from a car to the pub. All I could think was “Do not trip, do not drop this.” I’ve never been so terrified in my life.

3. One school I worked in had great relations with the local paper. But I’ll never forget the anguished plea of the reporter who’d accepted my invitation to come and see the work I was doing with Years 7 and 10 in conjunction with the Design and Technology Department: “Is there any chance we could arrange it such that the Headmaster isn’t in the photographs this time?”