This was a task from November 3rd. We were given the task to summarise a story about missing children on a school trip, following media law guidelines. This summary was only meant to be around 200 words long and explain what had happened, without breaking the anonymity laws.
This was the task given to us:
Use the following information to write a news story of 200 to 250 words for next week’s issue of the Wallfield Mercury, which is published each Thursday.
Last week Mr Philip Landsman and Mr Walter Crane, teachers of physical education at King Edward’s School, Wallfield, took a group of pupils hill-walking during the half-term holiday. The group, 20 boys aged 15 to 16, were based at the North Dale adventure hostel, Dalesmoor. At the end of the week there was an incident involving three of the boys.
And here was my Summary:
The nightmare adventures.
3 pupils from a local school went missing at the end of their weeks stay at the North Dale adventure hostel last week. The trip was well organised by teachers for 20 boys to spend the week walking and doing orienteering challenges until one morning the group noticed 3 of the boys were missing.
The group formed a search party that consisted of 10 of the remaining boys, whilst the others waited at the hostel in hope that the boys would return. The search party regretfully came to the hostel after two hours with no luck. The South Dale police were quickly informed and the Dalesmoor rescue team were called out to find them.
After an hour or so the three missing boys were found and taken to South Dale hospital as they were suffering from slight exposure but thankfully no one was injured. It turns out that the boys ‘held impromptu party and concert’ said by one of the teachers on the trip. The boys had gone out after this concert but failed to say where it was that they were going. Leaving all equipment at the hostel, they set off and once the mist had come down they got lost.
The boys parents were called, as was the headmaster of the school, to inform them of the incident and apologise for the breakdown in organisation. The teachers understand their mistakes and are just pleased no one was hurt during the trip.