A FILM created by John Bentley School students in Calne to promote the town has been viewed more than 11,000 times since its release.

The five A-level students were commissioned by the Mayor, Cllr Robert Merrick, who approached the school to see if they could produce a promotional film to communicate the pride people have in their town.

Screened at the mayor making ceremony and put on Facebook and Youtube, the film shows aspects of the town’s life with a thumping music track.

“They did a truly exceptional job of bringing my vision to life. Their teacher does a great job with the Media students, and I can honestly say that they far exceeded my expectations,” said Calne Mayor, Cllr Robert Merrick. “I’ll be using the film now at every opportunity I get, whether that’s at meetings, presentations or events. And we’re now posting it in various places online so that we can make the most of the fantastic work they’ve done. They should be proud.”

The A level Media Studies quintet of students of Maisie MacKinnon, 16, Lois Cooper, 17, Katie Moxham, 17, Jae Summers, 17, and Emily Jenkins, 17, took on the Mayor’s brief and filmed, edited and produced the film themselves, supported by the John Bentley School Head of Media Studies, Andy Mitchell.

To create the film, the students first had to pitch their ideas for the film to the Mayor, which they pulled together after doing a recce of the town’s highlights.“I think we really learnt a lot from the experience of working with a real client,” said Katie Moxham, 17, who is planning to go on to study Film Production at university. “We had to deal with challenges with the weather, filming with the public, and capture a huge amount of footage in order to edit it down to the final film.”

The final film, which includes drone footage which the students filmed over the freshly chalked White Horse, is currently available to view on the Mayor’s facebook page and will be used widely over the coming months.