Pupils scoop ‘Oscars’

CROMPTON House’s tribute to “The Clangers”

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BUDDING Steven Spielbergs from Oldham scooped two of the three awards awards up for grabs at the Greater Manchester Schools Film Festival.

Pupils from Alexandra Park won the best primary school film with their entry “The Mousinator”. A mixture of live action and animation, it follows a mouse invasion at the Brook Lane school.

And the best secondary school film award went to Crompton House students for their animation Cedric’s Forest, a tribute to “The Clangers” creator Oliver Postgate who died last year.

Both groups were presented with a trophy and a digital video camera for their school.

The annual competition is run by Oldham’s City Learning Centre in Hollinwood and manager Dave Barter said: “We provide a training course for teachers and workshops for pupils to get them going with film making. Then we give then a brief to produce a film.”

Entries from 14 schools were premiered at The Printworks in Manchester and the judging panel included a BBC representative and a professional film maker.

Bowlee Park Community School, Middleton, won the best documentary award and Mr Barter added: “The pupils get to see their film on a real cinema screen with real cinema sound.

“They are producing it for a real audience rather than to watch it on a computer screen.

“The films are just getting better and better every year.”