After the event, newly inspired reporter Alex joined Dan Diamond, Partnership Lead at the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit, for an exclusive interview about how the organisation is helping to keep young people safe.

Feedback from the young people who took part in the takeover day was fantastic, including:

“I loved the real life studio experiences.”

“It exceeded my expectations.”

“I hadn’t thought about working in TV as a career option, but I now do. I loved working in the gallery.”

“It was great to hear from role models and share our own thoughts on community safety.”

“It was the best day I have ever had.”

They also took part in a confidence scale at the beginning of the day and at the end of the experience, illustrating how they felt about presenting, interviewing and other studio media skills.

Hannah Williams, Community and Partnerships Manager at Belle Vue Co Op Academies Trust, said: “We all loved every second of this experience, the young people were absolutely buzzing all the way home from the takeover day.

“It was such an incredible insight into the media, and raised aspirations to careers in media as well as Higher Education through the university setting. Thank you so much for giving Belle Vue this incredible opportunity.”

Kerin Morris, deputy head of youth work and partnerships at HideOut Youth Zone, in Gorton, said: “It was great to see the young people take lead on something outside of there comfort zone, trying something new. They were confident and seemed like they had done it many times before. It was brilliant to see this opportunity make some of them think about future careers and how they could turn this into a life long career.”

Mike Copp, technical officer at Manchester Metropolitan University, who supported the young people on the day, said: “It was an absolute pleasure working with Media Cubs. The young people were attentive and keen to learn; they jumped right into their roles, and acted like young professionals.”

Aisling Kiely from Manchester Metropolitan University added: “It was a pleasure working with the young people and Media Cubs. It was great to see all the young people so engaged and watching them get involved in the different types of roles.”

Kirsty Day, project lead at Media Cubs, said: “This was such an exciting opportunity for the young people and they really got stuck in straight away despite it being a new and challenging experience.

“They all did a fantastic job and learnt something new, they should be proud of not only what they have produced but the skills and confidence that they gained during the process.

“The impact that we were able to see in just one day is amazing, hearing that young people now want to consider a career that they did not think was an option for them before was amazing, as was the growth in confidence. I was proud of all of them and very grateful for the support to make this happen. I can’t wait to do more takeover days.”

Find out more about Media Cubs here.