European Winners

Sixteen of our Gifted and Talented students recently entered a film making competition run in conjunction with the National Marine Aquarium and ‘Euroceans’, a network of scientists from across Europe who research the impact of climate change.

The idea was to make a film that looked at the effects of climate change on marine eco systems, both local and world wide.

Our students decided to make an animation and present it in a ‘chat show’ form. An octopus hosts the show and Stevie, the sceptical seahorse, is shown evidence of the effects of climate change on food chains in his natural habitat.

Students first spent the day at the Aquarium, asking the experts, researching the topic and finding out about marine eco systems and how they might be affected. This was followed by a three day workshop [See Photos] making story-boards and creating plasticine characters.

One of the students commented “it's a great way to learn, the aquarium is a fantastic classroom and we really had to learn the facts to enable us to ‘tell the story’ to others in a creative and unique way. “

We were delighted when we discovered that we had won the UK leg of the competition and that we were now on our way to Brussels to compete with other national winners from across Europe!

Students Katie Holmes and Merryn Hunt represented the school and were asked to speak in front of dignitaries and other delegates from as far afield as Sweden and Greece.

The Awards ceremony was a grand affair. It took place at the European Commission in the famous debating chamber. Guest speakers were Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime affairs and Mike Golding, famous round the world yachtsman. The chairman of the jury was Allain Bourgrain-Dubourg, French journalist and TV producer.

We were both delighted and surprised when we were announced as the winners!

Honorary Chairman of the Award Ceremony Joe Borg said he was very impressed by the children: “By preparing these films, you will help spread the word about the need for us all to do our bit to save our fragile and beautiful oceans. I truly hope that, at some point in the not-too-distant future, we will be handing out awards that celebrate the oceans as a diverse and strong ecosystem. Your efforts to raise awareness about climate change issues give me real hope.”
Mike Golding, the famous around the world sailor, also warmly congratulated them for their great work.

The prize money of 5000 euros will be spent funding similar projects in the future.

Watch the film here on the Ridgeway site or on the euroceans web site. [Please note: A broadband connection and flash player plugin are required]

ITV Westcountrycovered this local news story on Tuesday 17th June: Watch it again here