Young film crew win bank contest

The trio from Samuel Whitbread Academy in Shefford have won the ‘Most creative category’ in the Bank of England’s schools film competition ‘Bank, Camera, Action’.

The year 10 GCSE film studies students, Rosie Wilson, Alena Mahoney and Phoebe Gallant, responded to a brief to create a film with a theme of ‘a day in the life of the new fiver’.

Their entry was a creative interpretation of this which was a mixture of stop motion and live action. The concept was that the George is retiring his superhero title and handing down to mantle Winston who in turn receives a new £5 note cape. He then saves some helpless coins that have been thrown into the river.

Head of film studies Carl Tonking said: “I was so impressed with the girls’ dedication and enthusiasm for the project. To win that prize with over 100 schools entering is an incredible achievement and a great reminder of how rewarding the creative arts such as film can be for young people.”

Rosie said: “It was fun to learn how to animate and create a film and we can now use the skills we have learnt in our coursework.”

Alena Mahoney, added: “We put so much time and effort in. We stayed after school about 6 times and even carried the big yellow sign on the bus to Bedford for the river shots!”

Phoebe added: “When we were told we had won the ‘most creative’ prize it was amazing to know our hard work had paid off.”

The three students, all excelling in film studies with consistently high grades, won a £25 gift voucher each and the school received £600 towards video equipment.