Scottish Catholic Observer

A play written by pupils at St Kentigern’s Academy, Blackburn, has been turned into a short film, which will be used by world-leading children’s charity, UNICEF as part of its education programme.

Hidden Poverty is the title of a play produced by St Kentigern’s Seen and Heard group. It was set up as part of UNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schools Award, which teaches pupils about children’s rights as well as the value of respect in all their relationships.

Film-making

The St Kentigern’s pupils had the privilege of working with two professional film-makers as well as Jilly Hiller, a representative of UNICEF, as they set to work adapting their play into a short film.

“The concept for the film was created by our group to make people more aware of hidden poverty within the UK, and in response to UNICEF’s film competition—which our school won,” Moriah Jackson, an S6 pupil at St Kentigern’s, said. “After meeting up with the film producer, Stuart and Jilly Hiller, we tweaked and adapted the script from being a dramatisation to resembling a documentary—with interviews around our school and individual discussions on the issue of hidden poverty and the definition of a ‘good standard of living.’”

An important theme within the film focused on the statistic that almost one in every three children in the UK lives in deprivation. The issue was addressed by filming a class of pupils with every third pupil standing up.

“This, to me, was very moving,” Moriah said. “Within schools, especially where there are uniforms, it is very difficult to see any inequality or divide between pupils who are well off and those who are not. Anybody could be struggling, in one way or another with poverty, be it a physical or emotional need. The film’s aim, however, was not to reveal the gap between students but rather to give reassurance to those that are struggling that they don’t have to suffer alone. They have the right to speak up about it and ask for help.”

Excitement

The St Kentigern’s pupils expressed their great excitement at having the opportunity to work with a film crew for two days and they were also keen to emphasise that their main objective is for the film to be seen across the country, particularly in schools, to help raise awareness of the issue of child poverty and to help motivate people to do something about it.

The pupils’ mood was encapsulated by Kirsten MacDonald, an S4 pupil, who wrote a song for the film.

“The satisfaction of being involved has been incredible,” Kirsten said. “We’re not the people who are just watching the film, we’re actually the ones doing something and taking action.”

Her thoughts were echoed by S5 pupil, Gillian Keast.

“I’m glad we are finally able to get our message across,” she said. “Hopefully it will be the first step towards change, by giving those who need help a voice.”