Nationwide Gives Budding Young Filmmakers the Chance to Walk the Red Carpet

Nationwide Building Society is bringing financial education to life by inviting secondary schools across the country to take part in The Big Money Movie Pitch, a free competition giving students aged 11 to 14 the chance to pitch a short film idea about managing money.

Educating youngsters about finance is at the heart of the competition, whether that be a lesson in budgeting, saving or keeping money safe. The Big Money Movie Pitch aligns with multiple parts of the National Curriculum, and students can choose to present their idea on managing money as a storyboard, a script, a synopsis or any other format they choose.

The winning pitch will be made into a real film by industry professionals and premiered at Vue Westfield London, with transport included, on Wednesday 8 July 2015 at an exclusive red-carpet event.

The awards include:

• 120 places at the red-carpet screening for the winning school and 50 places each for two highly-commended schools
• The winning school's choice of a current blockbuster to enjoy following the film
• A whole host of benefits from Nationwide Building Society's Talking Numbers programme, including the option of running a Rock Club day, a MoneyLIVE day and a Beatbox session/DJ workshop at the school1
• 10 tickets to the Rock Assembly concert at Wembley on Wednesday 1 July 2015, with transport included
• The final film will also be used to educate other young people on managing their money – a film by young people for young people

Schools can sign up to the Big Money Movie Pitch at www.nationwideeducation.co.uk/moviepitch, which has a wealth of resources for students, teachers and parents, including factsheets, quizzes, videos and games to help educate young people aged two to 18 on topics – such as money, numeracy, careers, sustainability and safety, all linked to the national curriculum. Schools have until 30 April 2015 to submit their entries and the winners will be notified on 22 May 2015.

Stephen Uden, Nationwide's Head of Citizenship, said: "The Big Money Movie Pitch is such a great way for schools to give students the chance to be budding young filmmakers and showcase their creative talents, while teaching students the importance of saving and money management in an interesting, fun and creative way. We are inviting secondary schools across the country to get involved, not only to be in with the exciting opportunity to walk the red carpet and see their film on the big screen, but to also engage young people with financial education in a practical and enjoyable way. The Big Money Movie Pitch brings this concept to life, with great awards too."

The Nationwide Big Money Move Pitch Competition is part of the Society's independent Talking Numbers programme, which aims to improve the everyday number skills of 200,000 young people by 2017. Supporting young people in their understanding of essential everyday number skills, including money, is at the core of Nationwide's mutual standing and is why the Society has a whole host of resources for teachers, students and parents via Nationwide Education.

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Notes to Editors

1Nationwide Building Society's 'Talking Numbers' programme

• Nationwide Building Society's 'Talking Numbers' programme aims to improve the everyday number skills of 200,000 young people by 2017.
• The programme is made up of a wide range of interactive initiatives for use inside and outside of the classroom, developed in partnership with educational charities and teachers.
• A sample of the activities include:
  • Rock Clubs making maths real and engaging, featuring DJs and musicians to create a virtual concert, with the possibility of attending a real one.
  • MoneyLIVE! providing teenagers with the chance to tour a full size virtual village to learn about keeping safe both personally and financially.
  • One to one support with Nationwide staff volunteering to support numeracy skills in primary schools.
• Talking Numbers focuses on the practical everyday use of numbers, improving employability and equipping young people to make informed financial decisions.
• Talking Numbers is underpinned by NationwideEducation.co.uk – an independent website that educates young people aged 2 to 18+ on money, numeracy, careers, sustainability and safety in the home and on the roads, via games, factsheets, worksheets and films. The site has a wealth of content for students, teachers and parents.

The Big Money Movie Pitch:

Who can enter?

• The competition is open to all UK students aged between 11 and 14.

Why should schools enter?

• Participation will encourage students to showcase their creative and numerical talents and hone critical communication and creative skills relevant to English, mathematics, PSHE, citizenship, ICT, media, film, art and design, and related subjects.
• Financial capability is a vital life-skill for security and wellbeing and film is very popular with young people.
• Film is increasingly being recognised by teachers as a valuable tool that can be used to re-engage young people with the curriculum and increase their overall motivation for learning.
• Film can motivate and engage pupils in the classroom, and contextualise difficult areas of the curriculum.
• Film can help children to be more positive about the whole school experience, and showing films to children that go beyond Hollywood is recognised by teachers as helping to broaden their pupils' minds.
• Positive publicity and a raised profile for the award-winning schools within their immediate communities, the educational establishment and online.

Judging

• Entries will be assessed on effort and achievement by a panel of education and film industry professionals. How well each production team has met the brief will be taken into account.

The Brief

• The competition is for students to create a pitch for a two-minute short film about managing money. We are looking for pitches that bring to life one or more of the following key areas:
  • How to save / the importance of saving
  • Account safety
  • Budgeting
  • Credit / debit
• The final film should encourage young people to take responsibility for managing their money and finances effectively. The film is aimed at 11 to 14 year olds.

About Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide is the world's largest building society as well as one of the largest savings providers and a top-three provider of mortgages in the UK. It is also a major provider of current accounts, credit cards,ISAs and personal loans. Nationwide has around 15 million customers.

Customers can manage their finances in a branch, via the mobile app, on the telephone, internet and post. The Society has around 17,000 employees. Nationwide's head office is in Swindon with administration centres based in Northampton, Bournemouth and Dunfermline. The Society also has a number of call centres across the UK.