It’s lights camera action for students at Coulsdon Sixth Form College

A group of 29 students went on a trip of a lifetime to Sky Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Herts, to see first-hand how a film is made, talk to professionals in the industry and find out more about the jobs available in the industry and the skills needed to succeed.

Students were separated into three groups to complete pre-production, they were then assigned their industry roles and plan their film scenes. They also took part in a careers challenge where they learnt about industry career pathways through a series of games and activities.

The BTEC students, who are currently working on creating a short film for their assignment, were able to use the state-of-the-art Extended Reality (XR) studio to bring part of their film idea to life, giving them first-hand experience of the extensive capabilities of XR.

Some areas were out of bounds to the students due to some top secret films in production currently being kept under wraps, but they did get to sit in the original Jeep from Jurassic Park and experience going to an empty lot where they filmed scenes from Wicked and to a full Dolby Cinema that they have on location.

Tevin Robinson, Media Teacher at Coulsdon Sixth Form College said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for the students to a truly groundbreaking film and TV studio. The team at Sky Elstree were brilliant with the students and gave them access and opportunities they could only dream of. The BTEC students in particular, getting to use the Extended Reality (XR) studio to bring their own films to life was the highlight. The students got so much from the trip and have some back with a renewed sense of energy and excitement about a career in the film and TV industry.”

To find out more about the course on offer at Coulsdon Sixth Form College visit the website: coulsdon.ac.uk/creative-digital-media-and-film