Highland Pupils To Feature in BBC TV Programme

Pupils from Mallaig High School will feature in a BBC 4 Series ‘My New Best Friend’ The series, which starts on Wednesday 21 May looks at three schools from different parts of Britain and in each case follows a small number of pupils through the potentially difficult transition from primary to secondary school.

Produced by Blast Productions, the main focus of the TV programme is to look at the way in which the children’s friendships and relationships change and develop in the new schooling environment.

The second episode, to be broadcast on BBC 4 on Wednesday 28 May, features four children who attended different Lochaber primary schools but are now all S1 pupils at Mallaig High School.  They are Bryony Kirk (Eigg), Galen Brook-Atkins (Knoydart), Jessica Cunningham (Lady Lovat, Morar) & Ruairidh Stewart (from Arisaig, but at Primary school in the Gaelic Medium section of Mallaig Primary)

The one hour programme has been edited down from hundreds of hours of filming as the film crew tracked the children from May 2007 up to last Christmas, at home, at school and through their leisure time. Much of their interaction takes place in the school which features prominently in the programme.

Head Teacher Martin Sullivan said: “The attraction for the film-makers was that two of the children have to live away from home during the week, in order to access secondary education and therefore the transition to secondary school is even more challenging for them.

I have seen an advance showing of the episode and the filming looks wonderful, capitalising on the area’s spectacular scenery. It manages to capture the complexity of the children and their mixed emotions as they find their places in their new environment and stand on the edge of adolescence. While it doesn’t duck some of the more uncomfortable aspects of being 11 or 12, its message is very positive and there is a happy ending for each of the four main characters.”

The Highland Council’s Vice Chairman of Education, Culture and Sport, Councillor Bren Gormley said: “The step from primary to secondary school can be a daunting time for many young people so it will be interesting to see how the programme makers deal with the issues as we follow pupils moving to a different stage of their lives.  I’m sure Mallaig High School  and the participating primary schools have found taking part a very exciting and a rewarding experience and I am looking forward to seeing the school and surrounding area feature on the small screen.”