Sparks Film School

Since Sparks was founded in 2010, we’ve helped over 10,000 young filmmakers to develop their skills and creativity through fun, practical and engaging film courses, classes and events.

Our filmmaking courses are all practical, hands-on and focus on project-based learning methodologies to develop valuable, lifelong skills. Young filmmakers taking part experience filmmaking just like on a real film set, where they step into all the crew roles you find within professional film crews. They learn how to direct, how to shoot, act, produce and edit their own productions. They also learn about different styles and production techniques.

Sparks Film School courses run during the weekends and also over school holidays. Our filmmaking summer camps and half term camps are a great way to discover the joy of filmmaking and to meet new friends. Our weekend courses help children and teenagers who are passionate about film to explore their talents and develop their skills.

Many of our young filmmakers have gone on to achieve great things. We’ve supported youth filmmakers to gain entry to competitive university and film school places, as well as to gain arts and drama scholarships. Some of our students now work professionally within the film and the broader creative industries, on both sides of the camera.

Our students have even secured professional on screen acting work in film and TV. They’ve produced their own award-winning independent films, which have been screened at film festivals all around the world.

Taking part is ideal for boosting confidence and creativity in children who have yet to find ‘their’ passion. Filmmaking is both creative and technical and it champions individuality and self expression. We love to see our students develop their storytelling skills, as well as their photography skills, their teamwork and their own individual voices as creators.

Our approach is to empower young filmmakers to take the lead. We encourage them to inquire, to explore and to take on responsibility within their work. They write their own scripts, direct their own scenes and produce all the work you see on screen, supported by our team of specialist, highly trained film educators.

Our team of inspirational instructors are all recruited from the film/media industry, along with dedicated arts and media educators. Everyone receives specialist training to qualify as a Sparks Film School instructor, alongside taking part in Safeguarding training and undergoing vetting and DBS checks. We also implement high staff ratios, which help to ensure that everyone enjoys a high quality experience, as well as high level of personalised attention from our instructors.

Our film class sizes are small (limited to just 12-15 filmmakers per age group), which also helps us to guarantee a high quality educational experience, with access to plenty of equipment and opportunities for hands-on learning.

Students join filmmaking ‘Studios’ of peer-age filmmakers to take part in practical workshops and classes. They also produce their own productions during each term of classes, or during a school holiday camp.

Children in Studio 1 (ages 5-7) explore how to tell stories on screen, how to grow confident in performing to camera and how to work together as a film crew. Children in Studio 2 (ages 7-9) begin to learn about shot types and sequences, as well as how to produce their films from start to finish.

In Studio 3 (ages 9-11), young filmmakers begin to explore technical filmmaking skills, as well as a range of artistic styles. They begin to take on more independence as producers of their own work.

Filmmakers in Studio 4 (ages 11-14) explore how to work together as a professional film crew. They take on greater responsibility for production, as well as learning about craft skills and technical disciplines including sound production.

Studio 5 courses (ages 14-18) offer a creative filmmaking lab for young filmmakers to develop their portfolios and industry-specific skills to take them to the next level of their journey. Studio 5 filmmakers function as their own production company, regularly producing their own work for film festivals, for competitions and as part of their own portfolio of work.

Sparks was founded by youth filmmaking experts Dan Farrell and Donna Bamford, who together have been teaching filmmaking to young people for over 30 years. Dan and Donna are also the authors of The Movie Making Book, published by Quarto Kids in the UK and Chicago Review Press in the US.

We offer free trial classes for anyone who wants to come along and find out more about what we do.

As an Ofsted registered provider, we also welcome childcare vouchers, which helps parents to save on the cost of childcare, whilst helping their children to develop their interests and skills.

We receive rave reviews from our customers, almost exclusively 5 stars, which include:
“My children absolutely loved their 3 days with the lovely team from Sparks, gaining their first insights into the exciting world of film making. The end result ie. the short movie, blew me away! It was so brilliantly done and looked like all the children had great fun in the process. Indeed, their verdict at the end was unanimous: “This was the best camp ever!”

“Such brilliant staff. My children have a ball at the camps meeting new friends and learning how to direct. Their films are hilarious too, so win-win!”

“Great camp to develop creativity and for children to learn about film making. In this short period of time the teachers were engaging; the group developed a story for a short film, acted, set the scenes and were behind the camera, my son loved the activities.”

“SPARKS is extraordinary – brimming with exciting opportunities for kids. My daughter has enjoyed both weekly classes and a magnificent Summer Club at Sparks Balham. She has loved every single second – this is active learning, there’s no chance to get bored. And the staff are the best of the best, bringing masses of lived experience of scripts and sets and enabling the kids to fearlessly explore their imaginations and leave their comfort zones.”
We operate youth film schools all over the UK, with 27 branches in London, the South East, Manchester, Sheffield, Oxford and along the South Coast.

We also expect to launch 10 more film schools in new areas this year, where we’ll support even more young filmmakers to grow in confidence and to develop their passion for filmmaking.

Our mission is to inspire creativity, develop skills and talent and to energise the creative industries of tomorrow.

Sparks Film School is the UK’s leading youth film school, inspiring young filmmakers ages 5-18 to take bold, imaginative steps towards their futures.

Since Sparks was founded in 2010, we’ve helped over 10,000 young filmmakers to develop their skills and creativity through fun, practical and engaging film courses, classes and events.

Our filmmaking courses are all practical, hands-on and focus on project-based learning methodologies to develop valuable, lifelong skills. Young filmmakers taking part experience filmmaking just like on a real film set, where they step into all the crew roles you find within professional film crews. They learn how to direct, how to shoot, act, produce and edit their own productions. They also learn about different styles and production techniques.

Sparks Film School courses run during the weekends and also over school holidays. Our filmmaking summer camps and half term camps are a great way to discover the joy of filmmaking and to meet new friends. Our weekend courses help children and teenagers who are passionate about film to explore their talents and develop their skills.

Many of our young filmmakers have gone on to achieve great things. We’ve supported youth filmmakers to gain entry to competitive university and film school places, as well as to gain arts and drama scholarships. Some of our students now work professionally within the film and the broader creative industries, on both sides of the camera.

Our students have even secured professional on screen acting work in film and TV. They’ve produced their own award-winning independent films, which have been screened at film festivals all around the world.

Taking part is ideal for boosting confidence and creativity in children who have yet to find ‘their’ passion. Filmmaking is both creative and technical and it champions individuality and self expression. We love to see our students develop their storytelling skills, as well as their photography skills, their teamwork and their own individual voices as creators.

Our approach is to empower young filmmakers to take the lead. We encourage them to inquire, to explore and to take on responsibility within their work. They write their own scripts, direct their own scenes and produce all the work you see on screen, supported by our team of specialist, highly trained film educators.

Our team of inspirational instructors are all recruited from the film/media industry, along with dedicated arts and media educators. Everyone receives specialist training to qualify as a Sparks Film School instructor, alongside taking part in Safeguarding training and undergoing vetting and DBS checks. We also implement high staff ratios, which help to ensure that everyone enjoys a high quality experience, as well as high level of personalised attention from our instructors.

Our film class sizes are small (limited to just 12-15 filmmakers per age group), which also helps us to guarantee a high quality educational experience, with access to plenty of equipment and opportunities for hands-on learning.

Students join filmmaking ‘Studios’ of peer-age filmmakers to take part in practical workshops and classes. They also produce their own productions during each term of classes, or during a school holiday camp.

Children in Studio 1 (ages 5-7) explore how to tell stories on screen, how to grow confident in performing to camera and how to work together as a film crew. Children in Studio 2 (ages 7-9) begin to learn about shot types and sequences, as well as how to produce their films from start to finish.

In Studio 3 (ages 9-11), young filmmakers begin to explore technical filmmaking skills, as well as a range of artistic styles. They begin to take on more independence as producers of their own work.

Filmmakers in Studio 4 (ages 11-14) explore how to work together as a professional film crew. They take on greater responsibility for production, as well as learning about craft skills and technical disciplines including sound production.

Studio 5 courses (ages 14-18) offer a creative filmmaking lab for young filmmakers to develop their portfolios and industry-specific skills to take them to the next level of their journey. Studio 5 filmmakers function as their own production company, regularly producing their own work for film festivals, for competitions and as part of their own portfolio of work.

Sparks was founded by youth filmmaking experts Dan Farrell and Donna Bamford, who together have been teaching filmmaking to young people for over 30 years. Dan and Donna are also the authors of The Movie Making Book, published by Quarto Kids in the UK and Chicago Review Press in the US.

We offer free trial classes for anyone who wants to come along and find out more about what we do.

As an Ofsted registered provider, we also welcome childcare vouchers, which helps parents to save on the cost of childcare, whilst helping their children to develop their interests and skills.

We receive rave reviews from our customers, almost exclusively 5 stars, which include:
“My children absolutely loved their 3 days with the lovely team from Sparks, gaining their first insights into the exciting world of film making. The end result ie. the short movie, blew me away! It was so brilliantly done and looked like all the children had great fun in the process. Indeed, their verdict at the end was unanimous: “This was the best camp ever!”

“Such brilliant staff. My children have a ball at the camps meeting new friends and learning how to direct. Their films are hilarious too, so win-win!”

“Great camp to develop creativity and for children to learn about film making. In this short period of time the teachers were engaging; the group developed a story for a short film, acted, set the scenes and were behind the camera, my son loved the activities.”

“SPARKS is extraordinary – brimming with exciting opportunities for kids. My daughter has enjoyed both weekly classes and a magnificent Summer Club at Sparks Balham. She has loved every single second – this is active learning, there’s no chance to get bored. And the staff are the best of the best, bringing masses of lived experience of scripts and sets and enabling the kids to fearlessly explore their imaginations and leave their comfort zones.”
We operate youth film schools all over the UK, with 27 branches in London, the South East, Manchester, Sheffield, Oxford and along the South Coast.

We also expect to launch 10 more film schools in new areas this year, where we’ll support even more young filmmakers to grow in confidence and to develop their passion for filmmaking.

Our mission is to inspire creativity, develop skills and talent and to energise the creative industries of tomorrow.