To coincide with the introduction of citizenship to the curriculum, First Light launched a competition for secondary schools in the autumn term 2002. Schools across the UK were invited to submit ideas for a short film around the subject of citizenship. Four schools won the opportunity to make their film with the help of professional filmmakers. The films were made in the summer term 2003, at the end of the first year of citizenship in the curriculum and represent an exciting and challenging means of bringing citizenship education to life.

Movies

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  Another Day Another Fight

  As Amy arrives late for school we see that she stands out from the rest of the class – her hair and clothes are different. Stacey, the class bully, trips up Amy and the rest of the class laughs, but Sophie doesn’t see the joke. The teacher arrives and tells the class about the start of a peer counselling project – which none of the girls eems interested in, Later, we see Amy in the toilets, clearly upset, but Sophie’s attempts to talk are unsuccessful. As Amy leaves, Sophie looks at the package she has discarded in the bin and discovers a pregnancy testing kit. When Sophie sees Stacey beating up Amy, she tells her to stop becuase Amy is pregnant. Without her friends to back her up, Stacey runs away and Amy confides in Sophie that the test was negative. Later Amy appears at the peer councelling project where Sophie reveals that she, too, once thought she was pregnant.

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  Film & Citizenship Promo

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  School Dogs

  Laura attends the school council meeting, leaving Josh bored outside waiting for her. He thinks the school council is a waste of time and would rather spend the time dozing in the corridor. He dreams about Mr Sprat’s history class, in which students are humiliated and bored. Josh masterminds a plot to kidnap Sprat and his goldfish, Ethel. He and his accomplices plan to hold Sprat to ransom, and have an array of wet fish that they are prepared to use to torture Sprat if their demands are not met. They demand that the teachers begin to listen to the students’ opinions and involve them in decision making. But Josh’s plans come to nothing when the head teachers storms the building and Ethel’s goldfish bowl smashes on the ground. Waking with a shock, Josh decides that joining the school council to pursue his campaign might not be such a bad ideea afterall.

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  The Net

  Anna surfs the net for friends & finally hooks up with Brian. She wrestles with her conscience about whether to tell her friend, Brian, that she is disabled. In the end she doesn’t and this leads to complications and an unexpected outcome. After a failed attempt to meet, it turns out that Brian is a wheelchair user as well.

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  What Goes Around...

  David is given £50 by his dad to buy new trainers. On the bus into town with his friend Kelly, two bullies snatch his money. Kelly and David decide to get the money back and follow the bullies to the fair. The bullies spend the money on rides and sweets, then one snatches a wallet from a ride operator. David and Kelly see the crime and tell the operator. When he checks his pocket, he stops the ride, leaving the bullies dangling in mid-air. Monet drops from their pockets which they return to the man. At the last minute it seems as if David and Kelly’s perseverance pays off…