WIREDGOV

A group of ten media students from Guildford College were awarded first prize by Oscar-winning film producer Lord Puttnam of Queensgate for their film ‘Student Voice 2008’. The winning films were shown at the high-profile awards reception in London.

Runners up were a group of students from Hinwick Hall, a college for young adults with profound and multiple disabilities, two A-level students from Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College, and four students from Walsall College,three of whom have varying levels of learning and physical disabilities.

The competition was run by the Learning and Skills Network with support from the Association for Citizenship Teaching and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Launched as part of the tenth anniversary celebrations of the first Crick report,which resulted in the introduction of citizenship education in English schools, it attracted a large number of entries from students in colleges and private training providers.

Lord Puttnam said: “I have always been a very strong supporter of the idea that young people should learn citizenship as part of the curriculum. I am especially pleased therefore to be presenting these awards on the tenth anniversary of the Crick report.”

In a film no longer than three minutes, entrants were asked to present their views on how to give all learners a louder and more effective voice - one of the key objectives of citizenship education.

The Guildford College students win two days working with professionals in a range of multimedia with all hotel and travel expenses paid, and the chance to produce a film of their experience. The three runners-up each receive £500 in Amazon vouchers for educational resources.

John Stone, LSN’s Chief Executive, said: “I would like to heartily congratulate the winners and runners up, as well as all the young film-makers who took part in this competition. We were delighted to see so many high quality entries.

“These films contain some powerful messages on just how important it is that all young people have a voice, not just in their education and training but also in learning that they can make a real contribution as citizens.”

Media contact:
Lee Armitt at LSN, 0207 492 5142
larmitt@lsneducation.org.uk

Case studies

GUILDFORD COLLEGE

In the winning film, Guildford College students hold up written signs to voice their issues on college life and the importance of having their say in it. Scenes are interspersed with shots of the campus and an interview with principal Clive Cooke, who answers their concerns and explains the college’s student representative system.

This film was made by a team of ten Higher National Diploma media students:
Darren Martin, Thomas Oswin, Franklyn Robinson, Tom Ruddock, Jamie Buckingham, Nathan Smalldon, Andy Osborne, Nicole Price, Charlie Berning and Natasha Whiting.

This was their first project as a class and it was a real learning curve, said 18-year-old Darren Martin. “Some of us had film-making experience and some didn’t, so this was an opportunity to share what we knew with one another.

“It was the first few months of the course, so we all got to know each other better, team building and bonding as a group. As it was for a competition, there was added ambition to make the film look good. And to everyone’s delight and amazement we won!

“Making the film gave us more of an understanding of how important student voice is, learning as we made the film. We researched short films beforehand and tried to get an understanding of what students thought. But we were really shown what they thought when we asked them to write down their opinions.”

They now hope to host the film on Guildford College’s website and are considering showing it on YouTube. “We'll be showing it to many people, as well as putting it on our CVs,” said Darren. “Hopefully having won the competition will get us recognised by more and more people within the media industry.”

Their lecturer Simon Westcott said: “They are absolutely delighted to have won this national competition. The effect has been to bond them as a group. They would have gained a huge amount of benefit from this whether they had won or not.”

HINWICK HALL COLLEGE

Seven students from Hinwick Hall College are among the competition’s runners-up. The college in Northamptonshire, run by the national disability charity Livability, educates, trains and supports young adults with profound and multiple disabilities.

The students – Avtar Sandhu, Paul Huston, Ben Satchell, Terri-Ann Rose, Rhys McClellan-Evans, Callum McCready and Lee Morton – all have learning difficulties and rely on signing or high-tech devices to communicate.

In their film, ‘Listen, Understand, Hear’, they are interviewed by staff and discuss what is important to them in their lives, including families, football and music. Their message is that people need to be patient, to listen and to spend time with them if they are to make their voices heard.

To develop their ideas for the film, they had discussions using communication devices, symbol charts and Makaton signing (a communication technique using speech, facial expression, gestures, signs and symbols).They also made large posters with symbols and pictures, as well as models of room interiors depicting the important things in their lives.

They now plan to use the film to show at student and staff meetings, to circulate to other Livability education centres, and in student reviews and planning meetings, to show that students with learning difficulties make their own decisions.

Tansi Harper, principal of Hinwick Hall, said: “It’s lovely for our students to have an opportunity like this to have their voices heard on a national stage. “The focus of this competition is on citizenship - what these students have been able to express in their short film are their aspirations to be as involved as possible as citizens.”

NOTRE DAME CATHOLIC SIXTH FORM COLLEGE

In this film by Shari-Ann Irish and Rosy Deacon, fellow students discuss how important it is to them that their voices are heard. “It’s good to get involved, have ideas and above all, to try and make a difference,” says one sixth former.

The film examines how Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College in Leeds listens to its students. Measures used by the college include a suggestion box where ideas and views are posted and then discussed by the college’s student council.

Student access points have also been set up. And in the film, students discuss how they would like to see the student/staff focus groups develop further.

Rosy is taking A levels in religious studies, theatre studies, and English language, while Shari-Ann is taking religious studies, computing and media studies.

“It was really fun because it was our first film together and we were working with friends, so we all had a laugh together and got it all on camera,” says Shari-Ann. “It was a good experience.”

“We learnt that film-making can be unbelievably rewarding, but also stressful. Also I've learnt that we have some talent.

“When we made this we had the mentality of ‘let's do this and if we don't win then we haven't lost anything’. I don't think we ever thought we would get runner-up, which made the result so much more rewarding.”

Their media tutor Liz Farrands said: “They are really pleased their film is a runner-up. They kept it really quiet though – until recently I didn’t even know they had entered the competition. I’m really proud of them for the amount of work they have put into it.”

WALSALL COLLEGE

Walsall College students’ film – Course Rep or Not Course Rep? – is a documentary-style investigation of the college’s course representative system. Under the system every teaching group elects a representative, who attends meetings and conferences and puts forward classmates’ opinions and ideas. Course reps then feed back to the student body the outcomes of meetings and proposals by college governors and managers.

The film was made by Swaz Kumar, James Evans, Samuel Taylor, and Govinder Chima. Swaz, James and Sam have varying levels of learning and physical disability and are students in the college’s Supported Learning department. Govinder is a mainstream Media student taking a BTEC Level Two First Diploma.

Swaz is on a BTEC Entry Level Skills for Working Life programme,specialising in Performing Arts and Media. James and Sam are studying a BTEC Level One Introductory Diploma in Performing Arts.

Because they needed considerable support with the project, the film was produced by college staff. But the students were consulted at every stage, and their ideas included in all the creative and technical processes. In the film, newly-elected course rep Swaz Kumar investigates the system to find out whether it succeeds in its aim to empower students.

The camera follows him as he attends his first course rep meeting, and interviews the college’s director of student services and fellow students about their experiences of the system.

He concludes that the system works. “We wanted to make a film to see if our Course Rep system really does help students have a louder voice...and we found out that it does!”

Tanya Lewis, course co-ordinator for performing arts and media, said: “They are so pleased to be runners up in a national film-making competition. It’s a real achievement.”