TEENAGERS from Swindon have starred in a documentary style film that offers a snapshot of today’s education system.

The five pupils, who all attended schools in Swindon, appear in the feature-length film entitled We Are the People We’ve Been Waiting For ?

The piece was inspired and guided by Oscar-winning producer Lord Puttnam and will premiere tonight in Leicester Square.

The stars are Scott Harflett from Purton, Natasha Cooper from Wroughton, Amy Scott from Stratton, David Bryant from Park South and Saleh Omar currently living in Reading.

Natasha, 18, of Markham Road, Wroughton, still attends Ridgeway School, which was where she was approached by filmmakers as she revised for her GCSEs.

She is currently studying Geography, German, Art Design and Textiles and Performing Arts at St Joseph’s College.

She said: “I really was surprised, it really has opened my eyes to different people’s experiences.

“We’re all very different, but we’re representing the people that are like ourselves.

“I see it as a window into the education system.”

The 77-minute long production was filmed over the course of two years, when the students were between the ages of 14 and 16.

Filming was completed late last year.

Swindon was chosen as a town that could provide a realistic snapshot of Briton’s education problems at large.

Scott Harflett, 17, of Bagbury Lane, Purton, attended two Swindon schools, but left school at 16, and said he believed people suited to practical work were not given adequate help.

He said: “I thought it was really good, it really did push buttons. The film is not designed to answer a question, it is designed to ask questions.”

The film was supported by various sponsors including independent education foundation Edge.

To coincide with the film, Edge commissioned a poll of more than 2,000 people, in which 46 per cent of adults said they were regarded as average or poor students, according to a poll.

Some seven per cent said school made them feel like failures.

The findings show that of the five per cent who said they were regarded as poor students, more than half (56 per cent) ended up hating school and 49 per cent feeling less confident.

Fifty-three per cent of those polled said they felt their school gave up on them, the survey found.

Edge chief executive Andy Powell said: “It’s demoralising for young people to spend years in an education system which does not value their abilities. Many recover and find success, while others never do.

“We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to realise their talent in school and that there should be many paths to success.”

Natasha added: “It has been a really good experience and I feel privileged to be able to have been in it.

“I see it as a small window into what a teenagers’ schooling is like.”

To watch a trailer of the film visit http://wearethepeoplemovie.com.