TWO years ago, when Joe Pashley's mum died suddenly, his teachers immediately knew the ten-year-old would need their time and support.
His head teacher at Heymann Primary School, in West Bridgford, said there was a marked change in him.
But, after taking part in a short film project, both Joe and other pupils, who have overcome personal challenges with the help of their classmates and teachers, have found a new sense of confidence.
Their inspirational real life stories, made into a film called It's Not The Dinners, have been honoured with the Best Film For Under 12s award in the national First Light competition – an annual event showcasing the creative talents of young people across the UK.
Heymann Primary School beat thousands of competitors from both schools and film clubs to win the prize.
Head teacher Lynda Noble said that, as well as acquiring new skills in film editing, animation, sound recording and script writing, the pupils also have a tremendous sense of pride in their achievement.
"Not only are the children proud, their parents are overwhelmed," she said.
"The film has given these children a voice.
"Joe's story is about his mum dying. The motivation to tell the story had come from Joe himself, but it is obviously a very sensitive subject and nobody knew quite how he would react.
"He has been an inspiration to all of us and his dad says it has been a wonderful experience for him to voice what has happened and helped him to talk openly about it."
Maggie Bielecka, Ryan Lanes and Ryan Keogh also starred in the film, which all of the students at the school helped to create. Maggie, who is originally from Poland, did not speak English when she first came to the school, while Ryan Lanes did not speak at all. With the help of friends and teachers, both overcame their language and speech barriers.
Mrs Noble added: "We did not know if Ryan would talk initially to the script writer or to camera. It was a tremendous moment for all of us in the room at the time when he did.
"These were particularly emotional moments for all of us involved."
All 375 pupils travelled to the London award ceremony, which was judged by experts from the film industry.
Joe said: "I wanted to share my story with people so they knew how I felt."
Ryan Keogh, who explains in the films how the school has helped him pursue ice hockey, agrees that winning the competition was his favourite thing about taking part in the film.
"But making it was really good fun," he said. "It was hard work too, but we got there eventually and I really enjoyed it."
Actress Emily Mortimer, of Shutter Island, judged the competition, along with Harry Potter director David Yates and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who has worked on Doctor Who.
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