Ashcombe Primary School Restarts Good News Room Six Years After Launch
By Jill Dando News
Ashcombe Primary School has successfully restarted its Good News Room six years after first setting it up, following a special training visit from Nigel Dando as part of The Good News Post’s Jill Dando News Network.
The Weston-super-Mare school in Somerset originally launched its Good News Room shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic, with early support from Jill Dando’s brother, Nigel Dando.
However, lockdown and disruption to school life meant the project was unable to continue as planned.
Now, six years on, the Good News Room is firmly back in action, with dozens of pupils aged nine, ten and eleven applying to become Jill Dando News reporters — trained to find and report positive and inspirational stories from their school, community and the wider world.
The young reporters will now take with their notepads and pens around the school and community finding positive stories in the memory and style of Jill Dando – kind and with a smile.
The Good News Room is part of The Good News Post programme, which sets up child-led newsrooms in schools and trains young people as journalists in the style Jill Dando was known for: kind, positive, aspirational and professional.
During his visit to Ashcombe, Nigel Dando — who has 48 years’ experience working in journalism with the Bristol Post and the BBC — showed pupils how to find a brilliant human interest story.
He also gave an example of how to write a good headline using the example of a can baked beans which was found to have only two beans in it.
Teacher Hannah said: “We have been amazed by the interest from the children. There is so much excitement about finding and writing real-life good news stories, and it’s incredibly special to be doing this in memory of Jill Dando.”
The Jill Dando News project began in 2016 at Jill Dando’s former school, Worle Community School Academy, after The Good News Post first launched Good News Rooms in 2011 at Priory School.
Since then, the network has grown across the UK and internationally, including projects in Malawi.
Ashcombe pupils will now receive ongoing training and support from The Good News Post and become part of the Jill Dando News Network, joining hundreds of young reporters focused on sharing positive news, celebrating local heroes and highlighting acts of kindness.
Headteacher Chris Penny said: “Our pupils are absolutely buzzing. Restarting the Good News Room has ignited the pupils, creativity and enthusiasm. We are incredibly grateful to Nigel for his visit to inspire the young reporters.”
The pupils will now begin reporting on good news from within their school and local community — developing confidence, literacy and communication skills while learning that journalism can be a powerful force for good.
