We are delighted to launch an interactive drama series for secondary school aged students to provide relatable learnings on a range of sensitive community safety and relationship and sexual education (RSE) issues.

Eski has created Circle North along with young people and subject specialists for a pilot run of episodes available through a learning platform from the beginning of June.

The story is centred around the lives and experiences of a group of friends living in a fictional Northern town. They and a range of guest stars have been cast from acting groups and film schools across the North of England. Viewers observe how the characters challenge each other’s attitudes and awareness about the issues raised so that the audience learns with them.

Teachers and session leaders are supported by debriefs and guided lesson plans covering topics including relationship abuse and risks around sharing sexualised images. The films are delivered through a learning platform that enables schools and organisations to track participation and measure attitudes and beliefs on the learning outcomes.

The range of risks and pressures young people face is changing at a pace faster than we’ve ever seen before. We’ve created this as a tool to help take a hold of many of these challenges by combining technology with the tried and tested approach of good storytelling.

Our vision is to support a generation of young people to feel in control and connected to the health and social challenges affecting them. This pilot phase is crucial to gathering feedback on the direction and improvements we need to make to be a trusted and effective platform across the country.

Early feedback has been that the films and characters are realistic and relatable, which we believe is a result of keeping young people at the heart of the writing and filmmaking process. Storytelling in this way means that many young people want to engage and learn in this way, whilst the platform itself makes sure it is consistent and measurable.

We are moving in pre-production on further issues affecting young people with an additional three episode scheduled for production over the Summer. Circle North is available to schools, colleges and UK-based organisations working with young people. A free trial lasting until 30th September can be accessed at www.circlenorth.co.uk