What does Reel Education do? Reel Education grew out of work which was being undertaken in the south Wales valleys with the aim of bringing small cinema venues into better contact with their local schools, through offering education workshops based around film.
Groups of up to sixty students attend the workshop, which consists first of a screening of the film to be studied (giving the students the opportunity to view a film on the big screen is a key factor in Reel Education’s activities), followed by one or two sessions (depending on time factor) where aspects of the film are studied more closely, and the students undertake oral and written work. The planned work is aligned as closely as possible to the curriculum which the students are following – KeyStage 2 in the case of older primary school students, KeyStages 3 and 4 for students in years 7 to 11, and AS and A2 work for workshops offered for students in years 12 and 13.
In some cases, the films are studied as stand-alone texts; where the film is derived from a book, comparisons are drawn between the book and the film (or, as in the case of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, between different versions of the story). Workshops for AS and A2 students have involved screenings of French or German films, with the workshop being undertaken in the appropriate language.
In addition, Reel Education has offered a series of half-day introduced screenings of foreign-language films for students at primary-school level, working mainly with the Wales One World (WOW!) Festival held throughout Wales. These screenings demonstrate clearly that young people have few, if any, problems with sub-titles, and also introduce them to the people and culture of other lands.
Reel Education provides worksheets and back-up documentation for every workshop it undertakes.
And, equally, if not more, important - Reel Education aims to:
·promote closer links between venues and schools;
·promote film culture within the formal education system;
·provide education professionals with quality materials for use in the classroom;
·provide an enjoyable, yet educationally valid, experience for school students! | 
