More than 50 talented Forth Valley College students from a range of different Creative Industries courses, worked closely with the innovative ‘A School Without Walls’ to produce costumes, make-up designs, and a documentary film which was shown at the famous Tartan Week held recently in New York.
Welcome support from Screen Scotland helped FVC students Kyran Adam and Bethany Holmes from HND Production Arts, Gabrielle Millar from HND Make-up Artistry and Conor Duff from HND Media Production, and Art and Design Lecturer Gabriele Jogelaite and Operations Manager Colin Gunning make the four day trip to the Big Apple for the special event from 4-7 April.
A School Without Walls is a new kind of public High School centered around the intellectual and creative growth, joy, and empowerment of their students, who they help to grow into their full selves as problem solvers, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners through project based learning, inquiry, research, and debate of global issues, public and private internships and service, and civic engagement. https://aschoolwithoutwalls.org/
One of their Biology teachers Bryan Glover, had previously attended a unique summer school at Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus in July 2025. It was aimed at introducing Film and Screen as a newly available subject in Scottish schools, and he formed a close professional relationship with Colin Gunning, FVC’s Operations Manager in the Department of Creative, Digital and Leisure Industries, who took a lead role in establishing the summer school at the College.
This course certainly made a lasting impression on Bryan, who on returning to his role as teacher of biology at the Manhattan based ‘A School Without Walls’, was keen to encourage his students to incorporate film-making into the science based subjects he was teaching.
He set the students a task of presenting their findings of three principles of thermoregulation, osmoregulation and gas exchange, through the design of costume and make-up and waited with anticipation to see what they would come up with.
When they submitted their designs he was delighted with their creativity and imagination, and was quick to contact his contemporary Colin Gunning at Forth Valley College to see how the two institutions could collaborate on an even bigger project.
Colin immediately saw the potential and applied for funding to Screen Scotland – who were keen to get involved, especially due to Colin and Bryan’s link-up through the 2025 summer school.
The New York students’ designs were sent across to Forth Valley College and Colin and his lecturing staff enlisted more 50 students from subject areas such as Art and Design, Make-up Artistry, Media Production and Photography, to get to work on turning the designs into costumes and make-up for real models, and to set the wheels in motion for a short form documentary to be filmed on the project, which was shown at the famous Tartan Week celebrations in New York from April 7-11 2026.
Not only has the support from Screen Scotland helped the College bring in well-known and established film industry professionals to work with the students, such as Costume Designer Donna Bryce-Macleod, Make-up Artist Anita Anderson, Prop Designer Rob Evans and Director of Photography Keith Ingram, but the funding has also stretched to covering the costs of four students and two staff to travel to Tartan Week in April for the premier of the film.
Bryan Glover, Biology Teacher at A School Without Walls, said: “At A School Without Walls, students participate in project-based, real-world learning experiences. Our community partners with Screen Scotland to learn from the new Film and Screen curriculum and to partner with Scottish students to collaboratively create short films together. We were lucky to extend this partnership to behind the scenes film production work on costumes and special effects makeup with designers and makers at Forth Valley College.
“It's one thing to see the designs on paper. To see that creativity in young people, inspired by the science they learned, was impressive. Seeing the costumes worn by the makers at Forth Valley College was a proud teacher moment that will be with me forever. One of the student designers who created one of the costume looks was able to join me early in the morning for the presentation. His ear-to-ear smile told me everything I needed to know about what he was thinking. When the light came on in his design, we were both speechless.
“Experiences like this are exactly what we hope to create for students at A School Without Walls. The Forth Valley College makers and designers did extraordinary work.
“Students spoke with me about how to expand our work on costume and makeup design. Students with sewing skills are offering to train other students. They want to source fabrics from sources that are sustainable. Students want to start producing directly. I am delighted when students are invested in their learning process and want to work beyond the time allotted in a classroom. It is so much more gratifying when students want to help create and co-design the curriculum for the classroom. This experience will have long-lasting impacts on my teaching practice and on students.”
Colin Gunning, Operations Manager in FVC’s Department of Creative, Digital and Leisure Industries, said: “Seeing the students and staff from across the Creative, Digital and Leisure Industries department working alongside established Film and Screen industry specialists to create such high-quality work in such a short space of time, was just incredible.
“On the final day of the project, we had students across all levels, working together to showcase the costumes and make-up designs. It was incredibly valuable for every student involved and the feedback from the screen professionals was resoundingly positive.”
Colin added: “We were delighted to travel to New York City in April for Tartan Week to share our costumes, make-up designs and documentary film with School Without Walls staff, students and their families. Seeing the reactions of those young people from the School Without Walls to their designs, and the reactions of our own students, was an incredibly profound moment, and one that will not be forgotten. The students that attended the trip were wonderful ambassadors for the college and it was great to see how well they presented themselves throughout the entire project.”
Fi Milligan-Rennie, Head of Education at Screen Scotland, said: “Students from The School Without Walls have designed costumes and make up looks based on elements of homeostasis, the human body’s ability to maintain a stable, constant, internal environment.
“These designs were shared with students from Forth Valley College, who have worked with the New York students, meeting online, and working with Scottish industry specialists in costume, props and make -up in a series of maker sessions to realise the designs. This formed part of a wider Scotland and New York City Schools programme, designed to share Scotland’s Film and Screen Curriculum on an international stage.
“The finished pieces were showcased as part of a screening event for the wider programme, in New York City, in April 2026 and students involved form both sides of the Atlantic attended.
“This work reflects Screen Scotland’s strategic aims to transform film and screen education to enable greater participation in filmmaking for children and young people through the film and screen curriculum, and supporting international engagement by strengthening international collaboration and promoting artistic and cultural exchange.”
Stirling Location Photographs taken by:
Cailey Devine – HND Photography Year 2
@cdevinephotography https://www.instagram.com/cdevinephotography?igsh=bHhzbm5sNmM1Z2No&utm_source=qr
Stirling Studio Photographs taken by:
David Chalmers UHI BA Hons Student
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