Press release 20 April 2012

Film Literacy in Bradford Schools

Bradford City of Film is pleased to announce a programme of research into the effectiveness of Film Literacy in raising attainment levels in Bradford Schools.

Supported (funded) by the School of Informatics, Computing and Media at the University of Bradford the PHD placement will work with schools in the Bradford district over the next three years with assistance from the National Media Museum and the BFI.

Building on the success of a pilot project in 2010-2011 the research will follow the progress of children who will be using film and be taught about film as part of the primary curriculum. Working with film in the classroom offers children equal access to a medium that they are very familiar with, a medium that engages, excites and most importantly interests them. The project uses a BFI CPD model and teachers are trained to use short films and film clips to enhance the delivery of their literacy curriculum and to help pupils create short pieces of film of their own. The project encourages film literacy in the classroom and the use of film is an exciting and enticing tool for developing literacy and enhancing learning. The standard of boys’ writing notably improved as a result of integrating film in to literacy learning in the 2010-2011 pilot and we hope to have the same effect on a much wider scale in the coming 3 years.

Dr Ian Palmer, Dean of the School of Informatics, Computing and Media said; “The University of Bradford has been a key partner in City of Film since the designation was awarded. Whilst there is a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest the effectiveness of using film and the moving image in an educational setting, we believe that this will be the first longitudinal study at PHD level in this area in the UK.”

In June 2009, Bradford was designated as the world’s first UNESCO City of Film. The title was awarded because of the city’s rich film heritage, its inspirational movie locations and its many celebrations of the moving image through the National Media Museum and the city’s annual film festivals.

As a result of the designation Bradford is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network which includes 30 Cities from around the world. The Creative Cities Network connects cities who want to share experiences, ideas and best practices for cultural, social and economic development.

David Wilson, Director of Bradford City of Film said: “Following a successful pilot scheme in 2010, Bradford now aims to embed a film literacy strand throughout the education strategy for all Bradford Schools. The pilot will be extended to encourage all primary schools initially with a number of secondary schools coming on board throughout 2013 and 2014.”

The research will be advertised over the summer with a view to placement starting in September 2012.