One of the things we feel most strongly about at FirstStage Studios is our place in our local community. So when the opportunity arose to open our doors to S2 students from Leith Academy it felt less like a decision and more like an obvious thing to do.
In October 2024, we welcomed a group of 12 and 13 year olds into the studio for a full day film production workshop, funded and organised by FirstStage and focused around a theme the students had helped choose themselves: Haunted House. Before the day itself, we visited the class at Leith Academy to introduce the idea, hear what excited them, and get them involved in shaping what the day would look like. That early investment from the students made a real difference, they arrived already buzzing with ideas.
The day was built around genuine, hands-on industry experience, but with a twist that we think made it land differently to a normal school day. This was not English class, it was scriptwriting on an actual production. It was not woodwork, it was set construction for a film set, with donated props, materials and equipment from Reset Scenery, St Andrews Timber, and Tower giving the sets genuine authenticity and allowing us to provide this experience. Make-up was not art class, it was learning to build a character, age a face or fake a wound. Every skill station had a professional at the helm and a real outcome attached to it. Students also had to manage their own time across the sessions and work as a department, which meant the softer skills communication, decision-making, keeping to a schedule were woven into the day without anyone having to put them on a whiteboard.
We supplied a food truck by Alaburrito (to really give the onset experience) which based on the feedback may have been a highlight in its own right - the students split into three groups and put everything they had learned to work, producing their own three-scene Haunted House short films. They wrote the scripts, designed the sets, managed the make-up and costumes, and filmed it all themselves on school-provided iPads so they could edit the footage back at school. The energy in the room was something else.
The students did not hold back when sharing their thoughts. Alongside some genuinely lovely reflections - "I loved the experience this morning, it really makes me feel much more confident about acting and about my future career ideas" - there were also the ones that made us laugh. "There were really great people, they are very kind and cool and the atmosphere was wonderful. There were snacks and I also got to be creative which I loved." The snacks came up more than once. We will take it.
We were also delighted to welcome Rosie Ellison from Film Edinburgh and Fi Milligan-Rennie, Head of Education at Screen Scotland, on the day. Her and Rosie's presence reflected the wider enthusiasm that exists for connecting young people in Scotland with the creative industries.
The feedback from Leith Academy was humbling. Ben Stewart, Depute Head Teacher, wrote to us afterwards and described the day as having "a significant and transformational impact" on the pupils, and noted that one young person said it was the best day of their life. Gill Pereira, Curriculum Leader for Expressive Arts, told us the atmosphere was electric, that the team laughed, created, and collaborated in a way that classroom teaching simply cannot replicate, and that the day was a career highlight for her.
