SCHOOLCHILDREN in the Reporter area will get the chance to visit the cinema for free as part of an annual initiative.

SCHOOLCHILDREN in the Reporter area will get the chance to visit the cinema for free as part of an annual initiative.

National Schools Film Week (NSFW) runs throughout the UK with the aim of supporting classroom teaching. It looks to provide schools with an experience for their students that links directly to elements of the curriculum and is supported by an online library of resources related to individual films and more generic topics.

Saffron Walden’s independent cinema, Saffron Screen, based at the County High School in Audley End Road, will host the free film day for local schools on October 20.

Clavering Primary School took part in the initiative last year.

Headteacher Pat Poole said: “Thanks to NSFW our pupils had the opportunity to watch a film on large screen with their friends. They also had the chance to talk about the film afterwards and do follow-up work.

Over 400,000 students and their teachers attended the festival in 2009 and this year 2800 screenings at 750 cinemas across the UK will take part.

Director of National Schools Film Week, Nick Walker, said: “We hope that teachers and students feel engaged in the Festival and realise that attending a NSFW screening is far more than a nice trip to the cinema.

“We do this by giving schools added talks and on-line resources to contextualise the film; to empower teachers by giving them the opportunity to programme which films they feel tie in with school topics at their local cinema and finally to encourage students to explore new worlds by seeing films they wouldn’t ordinarily choose.”

Teachers can book their free tickets online at nsfw.org