Platform and Into Film have teamed up to form a unique partnership, providing access to an exciting cinema experience for schoolchildren whilst also teaching them rail safety.
The Into Film Festival is a free, annual, nationwide celebration of Film and Education for 5-19 year olds. It allows schools to book free cinema screenings for a wide choice of films across the UK.
Platform is a rail education scheme that works with schools to empower young people in accessing the railways. Through workshops, train-trips, and bespoke, local resources, Platform helps teachers to build their students’ knowledge of rail-safety, their understanding of sustainable and healthy travel, and their confidence in using trains.
The Platform team recently worked with Into Film to deliver two classes of students from Worle Village Primary School to a screening of The Railway Children Return at Cineworld in Weston-super-Mare on Friday 11 November. Platform’s Learning Officer Imogen Sackett met the students and their teachers at Worle Railway Station and assisted them in travelling to Weston-super-Mare.
Each student was given a special ticket to commemorate the event, and were provided with a free rail safety book – Arlo’s Adventures, written by Bessie Matthews – to take home with them.
The whole event was delivered at no cost to the school, thanks to complimentary cinema tickets through the Into Film Festival, and complimentary travel, for rail education purposes, provided by GWR.
Imogen Sackett, Platform’s learning development officer, said: “It has been fantastic to work with The Into Film Festival. Taking young people by train to see The Railway Children Return was a really special occasion, and we hope that this is a partnership that will run for years to come.”
Oliver Loveday, programme delivery coordinator for Into Film, said: “Partnering with Platform has been wonderful. A big part of my work at Into Film is to broaden access to screen culture for young people. So, to be able to offer an exciting cinema experience and rail travel to and from the event, all for free, is fantastic!”
Following the success of this pilot, it is hoped that Platform will be able to collaborate with Into Film in the future, to keep delivering on their vision to make rail education trips meaningful and purposeful whilst building on cultural capital and curriculum links with out-of-classroom experiences.
If you would like to find out more about the work Platform do, visit their website.
