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Girls in the Lead: Celebrating Young Changemakers Through Film
At Skills 4 All, we’ve always believed in the power of creativity to ignite confidence, amplify young voices, and pave the way for meaningful community change. And this month, we proudly celebrated the culmination of our year-long filmmaking project, Girls in the Lead — a joyful, moving event that brought together the young girls involved, their families, and our wider community.
The celebration event was a powerful showcase of the films created by over 20 incredible young girls from across three local schools. With lights dimmed and anticipation high, their stories played out on screen — raw, honest, and beautifully made. From themes of mental health, the harms of gossiping, to corporate marketing each film revealed a powerful perspective and the passion of young voices who are ready to lead the way.
As a meaningful part of the project, each girl achieved an AQA Unit Award in Filmmaking, recognising their commitment, creativity, and the valuable skills they developed throughout the year. This formal accreditation marks an important milestone for the girls — many of whom had never seen themselves as “academic” — and is a reminder of the different ways success can be defined, nurtured, and celebrated.
This project was made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. The support enabled us not only to teach industry-level filmmaking skills, but also to introduce the girls to guest speakers and changemakers with lived experience — inspiring women who have used creativity as a catalyst for impact. These sessions proved invaluable, giving the girls both representation and aspiration.
As part of the programme, one of the groups had the chance to visit The Sharp Project, Manchester’s hub for digital creativity. During their exclusive tour, the girls saw behind the scenes of a working media facility and took part in a personalised storytelling workshop. This experience opened doors to new ambitions and showed the girls that their stories truly belong in the creative industries.
Since 2019, Skills 4 All — co-founded by Rubbi Bhogal-Wood and Reddy Lenge — has been providing underserved young people with the space and support to explore their curiosity and step into their potential. We were honoured to receive this National Lottery funding and are deeply grateful to the players who made it possible.
As Reddy and Rubbi shared on the night:
“We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery players, we’ve been able to work alongside these young girls to provide them with high-quality skills and a platform to have their voices heard on the social changes that matter most to them.”This project might have wrapped, but the journey for these girls is just beginning. They leave with not only filmmaking skills and an accredited award — but also the confidence to tell their stories and change the world around them.
To everyone who supported this project — our schools, families, funders, and especially our talented young filmmakers — thank you. You are the change we’ve been waiting for.
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Games character design
One of our talented students has spent the last few days illustrating an original character using Ibis Paint for an upcoming competition. The character was created across more than 100 layers—allowing it to be fully rigged for animation. This intricate layering makes it possible for every part of the design to move, bringing the character to life in a dynamic way.
The student shared, “I not only wanted to create my design for a competition, but also for my portfolio to show people my skills.”
After submitting her design, she reflected on the process: while she enjoyed it thoroughly, she admitted it wasn’t without its challenges. “Sometimes it got a bit frustrating,” she said. “It was easy to accidentally rig the wrong layer, which meant redoing parts over and over again.” Still, she persevered—and the end result is nothing short of incredible.
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Screenshot A huge well done to this hardworking and creative student! We can’t wait to see what she creates next.
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Summer Sparks: Tech, Play, and Life Skills at Our 2024 Holiday Clubs
This summer, we proudly wrapped up our 2024 holiday clubs, where over 70 young people joined our Digital Summer of Fun at The Brian Clarke C of E Academy and Beever Primary School.
Thanks to the generous funding from the Department for Education and Oldham Council, children whose families are in receipt of benefit-related free school meals, aged 4 to 13 honed their coding and robotics skills while also learning essential life skills like sewing, sustainability, and healthy eating.
Of course, no Skills 4 All holiday club would be complete without our ‘Move More’ afternoon sessions. Co-facilitated by our incredible Young Digital Leaders, these sessions saw the children engage in fun activities like table tennis, basketball, and football.
To top it off, every participant enjoyed a hot, healthy meal provided by World Cuisine, which was a hit among all!
We extend our deepest gratitude to the DfE and Oldham Council for their continued support in making these holiday clubs possible.
Here’s to more summers filled with learning, growth, and fun!
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Celebrating Success: A Year of Digital Arts with E-ACT Royton & Crompton School
The atmosphere was filled with energy, excitement, and elation as we celebrated the culmination of our year-long project with E-ACT Royton & Crompton School. Thanks to the generous funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, we were able to offer a digital arts-based learning experience to 12 young girls.
Over the past year, these students honed their skills in three core areas: video storytelling, creative writing, and photography. They had the opportunity to learn from industry experts through hands-on sessions and enjoyed an immersive tour and workshop at The Sharp Project.
The project concluded with a celebration event at the school, featuring an immersive gallery exhibition. Parents, carers, friends, and teachers attended, witnessing the young participants share their spoken word pieces and reflect on their journey. The project not only equipped them with technical skills but also with valuable employable skills, setting them up for future educational and career successes.
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Rubbi & Reddy talk Purpose-led Tech Skills
Reddy Lenge and Rubbi Bhogal-Wood, co-directors of skills 4 all, recently appeared on the impact boom podcast to discuss the impact of ensuring underprivileged communities receive education and training around digital literacy and how system’s change can be sustainably accelerated through businesses embracing the social impact mindset.
Listen below, or click here to read the full article.
