Education and the Curzon’s Role

The Curzon Cinema is committed to providing learning opportunities for all sectors of the community.

Education and Learning Co-ordinator

The Heritage Lottery funding has both enabled us to progress our plans to refurbish the building and to appoint an Education Officer, Cathy Poole.

Programme plans include:

• Film making projects with local primary schools supported by Find Your Talent
  
• Film making projects with local youth and community groups supported by Find Your Talent
  
• Curriculum-based activities for Primary schools
  
• Media and film related day schools for Secondary schools
  
• Modern Foreign Language films introduced by a native speaker for those studying MFL
  
• Visits and tours by local community and school groups
  
• The North Somerset Media Showcase – screening films and displaying print media made by local AS and A2 Film and Media students
  
• A Saturday morning Kids’ Club
  
• A screen writing weekend

The Curzon Youth Panel

The Curzon Youth Panel meets on a regular basis. The young people have made their own film about the Curzon and also contributed their views about the Curzon to the successful Lottery assessment day. Now they are working on a documentary about the Heritage Lottery building process. They aim to set up a Film Club for their peers, aged 13-25. Watch this space for the launch information.

Clevedon’s historic Curzon Cinema is making plans to open more of its heritage to the general public, following the building works scheduled for the summer months.

The Heritage Lottery Award means that the Curzon Cinema will welcome more of the public to explore cinema’s history more often. There will be expanded public access to parts of the building that have been closed off for decades and to the Curzon Collection of heritage cinema equipment.

There will be many more opportunities for young people and for the community to see and learn about both the building itself and the Curzon Collection through educational events, guided talks and tours. Cathy Poole, the new full time Education and Learning Co-ordinator is working on ways to support the school curriculum and to link with community groups.

Cathy Poole said, “The proceeds from the very first screening at the Curzon were used to support the families of those who died in the great Titanic disaster in 1912. One of the possible activities we’re looking at for Primary Schools could include learning about what it would have been like to go to the cinema in 1912, with actors dressed in the costume of the time to welcome the children and newsreel footage from that date shown and discussed.”

The Curzon is seeking two types of Learning Volunteers, Formal Learning Volunteers who will support the schools programme during the day and Family Learning volunteers who can work with families and other visitors at evenings and week-ends. Volunteer training will be provided.