Goals: To help excluded young people deal with challenging situations by learning film stunts
Funding: 12,000 from Brentwood Borough Council, plus in-kind support from Brentwood Leisure Trust and the police
Getting young people to learn stunt moves such as pub brawls could be seen as unnecessarily encouraging violence. However, that is not the intention of a project run by Brentwood Borough Council in Essex, which has been teaching young people stunt skills for the past two years.
The project was first set up by the council's youth arts officer, Lucy Gill, in collaboration with the local antisocial behaviour co-ordinator, and Stunt Action, a group of stuntmen from Shepperton Studios.
Gill explains: "The aim of the project is to provide personal development for young people. Young people experience pressure and learn how to deal with it positively, and they learn about caring about others' safety as well as their own."
The project, carried out in venues such as leisure centres, helps young people learn a range of skills including teamwork, trust and assertiveness.
It is aimed at excluded 12- to 17-year-olds with behavioural problems, referred to the project by schools, Connexions and the youth service.
The group of 13 young people spends four days learning stunts. It then performs the moves for a short film written by Stunt Action.
The latest film will be premiered at a local venue in May.
Got a project to share? Call Charlotte Goddard on 020 8267 4719, charlotte.goddard@haynet.com.
