Waterloo Road school tour

It created a bit of a stir when George Sampson, one of the new stars of BBC One's Waterloo Road programme, arrived at a screening event at the Printworks in Manchester last night. In all honesty I didn't immediately recognise the Britain's Got Talent winner, but clearly that wasn't a problem for the mainly teenage crowd - they were whooping and cheering with lots of enthusiasm - and it wasn't just for the celebrities - it was also because they were about to see themselves on the big screen as well.



Waterloo Road is filmed in Rochdale and the screening event was about celebrating the series' northern routes as well as showcasing a project that has got some real-life students involved. Peter Salmon, Director of BBC North, spoke at the event and re-confirmed the BBC's commitment to the north of England. As the BBC's physical move to Salford Quays draws closer (the first staff move in during May 2011), it's really important that we continue to look for new ways of connecting with audiences - and I think this was a fantastic example of that in action.



My team got involved by working with staff from Shed, the programme's production company, to get pupils creating their own versions of the school-based programme Waterloo Road. The BBC bus visited schools to film mini-episodes of the hit drama in Grimsby, Preston, Sheffield and Gateshead. Each school did an amazing job - especially considering the whole thing was filmed in just one day per school.



It was interesting to get pupils' take on some of the issues they face in their own lives - and to see how those compare to the fictional drama! It has been a great chance to get Shed script writers and BBC staff up close and personal with their audiences and real life students. It was also good to see the different stories each school came up with - the Preston school looked at gangs, while Sheffield focused on bullying. All four short films will be on the Waterloo Road website next week so you can watch for yourself.



At the screening last night, we not only watched the students films, we also saw previews of the next series of Waterloo Road. Several people then took to the stage for questions, including two of the programme's other new famous faces, Robson Green and Mark Benton. Both congratulated the pupils - and even said they'd spotted some rising acting talent amongst the young audience. The BBC's Controller of Drama Commissioning, Ben Stephenson, also praised the young film-makers and encouraged them to follow their dreams if any of them now wanted to pursue their own career in the industry.



All the participating schools came along to the event from right across the country, which was very impressive. We also had a great turnout from Shed, as well as a good mix of press and opinion formers. I spoke to Ann McManus, Shed's Creative Director, after the event and it's clear she has a real passion for the project. Their support for the initiative was really impressive and I'm very pleased with the results.

Alec McGivan is Head of BBC Outreach