Education system is keeping UK behind rest of the world, warns documentary

A fundamental change in teaching and learning is needed as the UK’s education system faces a rapidly changing, globalised world, warns a documentary being launched today.

We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For is based on an idea by Oscar winning producer Lord Puttnam, and reveals the dislocation between how education is taught and a world increasingly dominated by digital technology.

“I’ve no doubt that We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For has the potential to be a powerful catalyst for overdue educational reform. We need to provide all of our young people with an education that motivates them to learn, and enables them to discover what they are good at. We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For is intended to act as nothing less than a wake-up call,” says Lord Puttnam.

The premiere will screen today in Leicester Square, London, and will also be released online on request. It features a host of influential personalities, including Sir Richard Branson and Dame Ruth Silver, who share their experiences and opinion on the education system. Following the lives of five Swindon-based teenagers, the film, which is supported by various organisations including independent education foundation Edge, explores some of the more innovative approaches to education around the world, and offers a glimpse of the future.

The film concludes that, although there are “signs of spring”, a transformation is vital if the UK is to continue to compete effectively in an era of globalisation.

Following the premiere, We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For will be released here.