Film runners-up meet Cherie Blair

MEETING Cherie Blair and a trip on the London Eye were highlights – and possibly consolation prizes – for a group of Felixstowe students who narrowly missed out on winning a national competition.

Orwell High School Year Nine students Hannah Kingston, Nicola Day, Emma Martin, Amy Harrison and Rachel Fox came second in their category but were still delighted by their success.

The competition – which had the prize of a trip to New York – was run by Amnesty International and had the theme A Fairer World – A World Without Torture, and attracted more than 850 entries.

The girls, who had been studying human rights in their drama lessons, took inspiration from Swan Song, a work by celebrated choreographer Christopher Bruce, to make a one-minute animated film using plasticine figures.

In the film, the figures they had created moved to illustrate the theme, and it also featured but music composed and performed by the group and a poem they had written themselves.

After being joint winners in the regional final, they went to London for the day to attend the national finals at the NUT building in Euston.

The competition, open to any student in the UK, was to find an artistic way, using whatever medium or genre they chose, to get the message of Amnesty International across.

The Orwell team came second in the 11-16 group category, and were presented with an original cartoon by celebrated artist Tony Husband, which the school will display proudly, and a collection of books.

The day in the capital included a tour of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a trip on the London Eye.

The judging panel consisted of eight celebrities, including Zoe Ball and Floella Benjamin, whom the girls met. The special guest, who arrived during tea before the finals, was Cherie Blair, who happily signed autographs.

The film has been shown to Year 9 students at their assembly, and will be shown to students in other years, using a multi-media projector.