Inspiring Young Minds with LS

What followed was a brilliant and inspiring session, full of fun and interesting conversations, which only served to reaffirm our commitment to breaking down industry barriers, building grassroots connections and helping young people in Scotland (and Beyond) envisage the future creative career paths that exist on their doorstep.

Planned in conjunction with DYW (Developing Young Workforce) Co-ordinators from across Edinburgh, Midlothian & East Lothian, we welcomed around 25 pupils from Preston Lodge, Musselburgh Grammar and Drummond Community High School. The visit was designed to inspire senior pupils with a keen interest in the film and television industries to learn more about the skills, experience and attributes required to work in the industry and the diverse range of pathways available. Our MD, Sarah Drummond kicked things off, with an emotional introduction to her career journey, how she worked her way up through the industry, touching on neurodiversity and with a passionate pledge that the production industries are open to everyone from every single background with the right attitude and mindset.

Taking a whistle stop tour through our services, some of our most recognisable projects (with a few celebrity anecdotes thrown in for good measure) and what a day in production really looks like, we then moved on to an interactive quiz with some ‘must have’ LS tote bag prizes up for grabs. With a Q&A session rounding things off, where some of the LS team discussed their own career journeys, the aim was to illustrate that there are no direct linear routes into the film and TV and production industries and there are many directions to travel once in.

Our key message - the industry is open to you - so back yourself, work hard, create, be curious and ultimately don’t be afraid to be cheeky to push open doors and build connections. As the future of an industry is in rapid change, it is exciting to think that this generation of pupils will be the ones to drive its evolution, unlock the challenges currently facing the industry and build the creative landscape of the future.

Huge thanks to the DYW for organising the session and with a special shout out to Elaine Gorman, Amy Kirk and Sue Anderson for co-ordinating each of the schools and keeping LS on track. Most of all thank you to the pupils who came, listening to what we had to say and for asking such fun and insightful questions. We hope it sparked some thoughts for the future and we look forward to welcoming some of them on set as extras based on the plans that were being hatched as they left.

We’ll leave you with our favourite question of the day

‘‘Please tell me Harry Styles is as nice as I hope he is.’