Scottish Catholic Observer

The film was released on Friday April 27 following a premiere viewing at the Glasgow Film Theatre on the morning of April 26.

The hour-long documentary depicts the past, present and future of an education act which has seen Catholic schools across Scotland grow and flourish with the support of the government.

The film was commissioned by the Scottish Catholic Education Service (SCES) to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1918 Education Act, and was produced and edited by Sancta Familia Media, an online media group based in Lanarkshire.

Barbara Coupar, director of SCES, said: “Our film marks the partnership between Catholic schools and the state, which came into force 100 years ago.

“The film has been produced to tell our side of the story and I like to think of it as all our home movies packaged together as one.

“This is our story of Catholic education from our people, who went through the process over the last 100 years and I think it shows a very honest portrayal and accurate account.

“Not only does it highlight the history of the act, with input from our historians, the film gives hope for the future as it brings to light the past, present and future of our schools.”

The film features political voices from Scotland endorsing Catholic education.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon appears in the film saying ‘Catholic education is an important and well-established and accepted part of the education mix and system in Scotland—my government will always support that to be the case.’

The documentary touches on the history of Catholic education in Scotland prior to the Education Act in 1918.

Mrs Coupar said: “We are acutely aware however that Catholic education has been in Scotland for hundreds of years prior to the act, where monks and religious ran schools for the faithful.

“Therefore, with the film marking the centenary of the partnership between the Church and the state we felt it was very relevant to get the views and support from political parties across Scotland.

“We felt it was a vital opportunity to get our political leaders on record making sure their voices are heard—and thankfully everyone wanted to let us know that Catholic schools are good for Scotland.”

In recent years Catholic schools in Scotland have been transformed with the introduction of ‘Faith-based’ awards such as the Caritas Award and the Pope Francis Faith Award.

“Our schools are now at a point where every indicator says we are certainly as good as the ­non-denominational schools across Scotland,” Mrs Coupar added. “The act continues to be important because thousands of families are still choosing Catholic schools.

“Our HMI reports, Caritas Award, Pope Francis Faith Award, show that we offer Gospel values at the heart of our teachings and that pupils Faith life is growing with their school life.”

Barbara Coupar added: “We would like to let people know that the hour-long film is hosted free of charge on Sancta Familia Media’s YouTube channel under the title ‘Catholic Schools Good for Scotland.’

“We would encourage our Catholic teachers to use this as a resource in the classroom, our priests to use this in their parishes, and families to show it in their homes and beyond. We want to let everyone know that Catholic education is thriving and plays a key role in shaping Scotland.”

Mrs Coupar pointed out that the film can be broken down into three parts: past, present and future.

“This will make the film easier to digest if being viewed by a group and can be used to promote discussion in the classroom or in church groups,” she said.

To view the film, click here.