BUDDING filmmakers at a Wanborough School have seen their anti-bullying video appear on national television.

Sunshine After the Rain, produced by 12 mini moviemakers at Wanborough Primary, reached the final of the prestigious Action Against Bullying competition, run by ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

The minute-long film was broadcast to millions of viewers after beating out hundreds of other entries to make it to the final.

It tells the tale of a little girl that is subjected to emotional, physical and verbal abuse at school with lightning strikes used to reflect the damage inflicted by bullying.

Wanborough Primary runs an anti-bullying initiative and the competition struck a chord with deputy headteacher Lindsay Wood and ICT technician Mark Woodman.

Mark said the pupils played a key role in constructing the film’s storyline.

“Video is a focus for all of us here and it’s a really useful tool to teach the children with and of course bullying is something which is widespread and we want to make sure that it doesn’t happen to anyone,” he said.

“We sat down and worked through the creative process together with the student council. There were lots of ideas and we narrowed it down to make sure everyone’s idea came through.”

"The school council members thought hard about bullying situations and, more importantly, how to show what it felt like to be bullied, then how life would change for a bully if a school mate helped them out.

“I thought that the idea that they came up with was very original, for the bullied child everyday feels like it's wet, stormy and depressing and when the burden is lifted it's like the sunshine came out with a rainbow, hence the title "Sunshine After The Rain.

“The concept behind the video came from one of our year 6 pupils Theo Lewis.

"Each time the girl is bullied, the video shows thunder and lightning to represent how that child feels, but at the end of the video when they go and tell an adult, there is sunshine to show how they feel happier."

Following the shortlisting, ITV re-shot the film in high quality for cinematic viewing leaving pupils excited about their small-screen debut.

“The kids were looking forward to it and nervous about their acting. But they are all naturals and it’s great to see their hard work being recognised. It was such a surprise for all of us,” Mark said.

Mark said he wanted to encourage more children to speak up about bullying.

“Children will watch this and realise they are not alone and to tell someone if they are getting bullied and to do the right thing,” he said.

“The message is not to be a bystander to bullying. We need to stop it and the way you can is by telling someone and not to be afraid.”