Rebirth of Penwortham Girls' High School to be captured in documentary - featuring 100s of ex-pupils
Musicians who attened the school in the last 20 years are asked to come forward.
A call has gone out to musicians and singers who attended Penwortham Girls’ High School.
To mark the demolition of the original school building and the opening of a new state-of-the-art facility, a documentary is being made - and you could play a key role.
Called Hello Goodbye, the piece is described by producer Matthew Dever as a ‘poetic and collaborative film’ that explores the ‘emotional and sensory connections between people and place through the story of a school on the edge of transformation.’
Matthew - who works in the school’s exams department - says the film will weave together voices past and present, considering how spaces shape — and are shaped by — the people who inhabit them.
Rona Linklater
A central element of the film is a large-scale musical collaboration led by former music teacher Rona Linklater, who served the school for 40 years. She has brought together more than 100 former pupils - now musicians - to take part in a scoring session on September 27.
Some have gone on to become professional musicians, including playing for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
“For many, this will be their first return to the school”, said the film’s executive producer Jude Jagger, who attended Penwortham Girls’ from 1992 to 1999. “It will be a unique opportunity to record one last time in the school hall before it’s not there anymore.”
Jude, who played in Preston indie band Fi-Lo Radio, presented on Preston FM and now works as an artist and creative producer in Manchester, said her life’s work has been shaped by her time at school. She said: “I felt it was a really creative place, really supportive, and led me into the work I do now. The school gave me lots of freedom to explore my creative side and I remember my school days as a happy time.”
She added: “It will be a very beautiful, slow documentary that is put together with time and care, and when complete, it will be nice to give as a gift to the school and the area.”
Get in touch
Jude said the group is still looking for more orchestral musicians and singers who attended the school in the 2000’s and 2010’s to attend the recording session. Currently they don’t have any saxophonists, double bass players and ‘could do with more strings’.
Music will be sent out to practice ahead of recording, but Jude revealed it will include Greensleeves, Polly Flinders, Handel’s La Réjouissance and teddy bear’s picnic.
Jude herself will be playing the viola, which she says she hasn’t picked up for 25 years.
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