In late September 2005, teachers from nine schools and colleges taking part in the Breaking the News project arrive at ITN on Orientation Day for an introduction to the course. They meet their mentors - professional TV news journalists - who will work with them on the project. The students who will be involved vary from Year 9 to Year 13 students and also include a class of unemployed 16-19 year olds.

At The Grays School Media Arts College in Essex, Sean Delaney delivers the Breaking the News course to a group of fifteen Year 10 and Year 11 students as an after-school activity. Practical work they do for the project will be used as coursework towards their media studies GCSE and Sean thinks the project will also be very helpful for citizenship. In this session the students discuss hard and soft news.

Part of the project involves producing a local news story. Judy Aslett, the mentor at The Grays School Media Arts College, leads a discussion about possible topics. One student suggests a story about an art deco cinema, the State Building, which occupies a prominent position in the centre of Grays. It was bought several years ago by the supermarket chain Morrisons but is now suffering serious neglect. Judy helps the students to plan how they would produce a story about the State Building.

Before Newsday, students are invited to audition for the role of Newsday presenter. Sean Delaney films his students' auditions and mentor Judy Aslett is on hand to offer professional advice.