Our Senior Researcher Kat Emms went to the Association of Colleges Beacon Awards ceremony at Parliament earlier this month where she presented the Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning to Walsall College and its in-house production company. Future Flames Productions (FFP) is the UK’s only college-based commercial production company giving creative media students hands-on experience of producing high- quality video content. Everything earned from client commissions funds students’ academic and personal development, including course-related trips and visits to television and film studios or anything else they need to complete their coursework.
FFP students have worked on over 100 films for organisations including Walsall Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and the James Brindley Foundation. Creative media lecturer and Future Flames Productions founder, Melissa Tisdale said, “This is the icing on the cake for an initiative originally designed to give students extra opportunities to enhance their learning and help them feel they truly belong in the creative media industry. While it has grown into so much more—enabling students to engage with community stakeholders, raise awareness of social issues, and advocate for positive change—at its core, it remains about believing in what’s possible. I’m proud our work has been recognised in such a high-profile way.”
FFP’s ethos is very much about doing what is taught in the classroom out in the real world, with commissioned work directly contributing to student assessments and shaping their career paths. Since launching in 2021, students’ progression into higher education has increased and they have moved into freelance work and self-employment as video editors and content creators. Kat Emms said, “Congratulations to Walsall College! This AoC Beacon Award for Excellence in Real World Learning is so important for recognising the innovative and cutting-edge approaches to teaching and learning from the sector.
Kat Emms, Education & Policy Senior Researcher, Edge Foundation"Walsall College have shown that through the fantastic Future Flames Production initiative, they have enabled their learners to have life-changing experiences that are embedded in the real world, allowing them to engage with employers and the wider community to ultimately develop their professional and personal skills and inspire their career aspirations.”
The Association of Colleges Beacon Awards celebrate excellence in colleges, their staff and their students. They help increase the understanding of colleges’ contribution to their communities’ economic and social development and highlight the breadth and quality of education in colleges throughout the UK.