From film to classroom: How We Are Mansfield became part of the curriculum

At Queen Elizabeth’s Academy in Mansfield, that question is now being explored by year seven students through a local cultural project that has made a remarkable leap from community storytelling to the school curriculum.

Following the release of the We Are Mansfield film, the wider project is now being used in lessons as part of a curriculum focus on The Importance of Place.

Students are introduced to Mansfield’s identity, stories, and shared heritage, not as distant history, but as something living, relevant, and connected to their own lives.

It marks a significant moment for the town with a locally-grown creative initiative becoming a formal educational resource and a clear example of Mansfield’s cultural story finding its way into the classroom.

The programme helps students connect what they learn in school to the place they call home.

Through film, discussion, and reflection, young people are encouraged to consider how communities are shaped, why local identity matters, and how their own voices fit into the continuing story of the town.

For project lead Martin Croft, seeing the work embedded in education is exactly what We Are Mansfield set out to achieve.

He said: “Seeing We Are Mansfield become part of the curriculum at Queen Elizabeth’s Academy is a powerful moment for our town.

"It shows how Mansfield’s own stories, places, and people can play a meaningful role in education, helping young people understand early on the importance of place and the potential of their own community.

"This is exactly the kind of connection between culture, learning, and local identity that we hope to grow across the region.”

Those behind the We Are Mansfield project see the success of the programme at Queen Elizabeth’s Academy as not just being a one-off, but as a model for wider adoption.

Those involved in the project hope this approach – using local culture to enrich learning – will be taken up by other schools across Mansfield and the surrounding area.

Martin added: “By rooting education in place, the project offers schools a way to support pupils’ sense of belonging, confidence, and civic awareness, while reinforcing positive narratives about the town itself.

Richard C Bower, internationally-acclaimed poet, Mansfield poet laureate and a primary contributor to the project, believes the wider potential is clear.

He said: “When a town’s own stories are trusted enough to be taught in its schools, something important shifts.

"It tells young people that where they come from matters, that their place, their voices, and their lived experience are worthy of attention.

"If this can happen in one school, there’s no reason it can’t happen across many more.”

Originally created as a film celebrating Mansfield’s people and spirit, We Are Mansfield has steadily grown into a shared cultural reference point, shaped by contributors from across the town and embraced by its communities.

Richard continued “We Are Mansfield’s inclusion in the curriculum at Queen Elizabeth’s Academy represents a significant next step – one that demonstrates how local creativity can have a lasting impact when it is trusted, valued, and embedded in education.

"At a time when many towns are searching for renewed confidence and cohesion, the project offers a quietly powerful example of what can happen when creativity, education, and community identity work together.

"For Mansfield, this is more than a curriculum addition – it is a statement of belief in place, in people and in the value of telling our own story.”