PQA Edinburgh East Lothian

We are so incredibly thrilled to announce our Blue group student Amèlie won third place in the summer of football film challenge!

We are sure this is the first of many awards her film making will win🏆 keep up the hard work!

Don't worry though, there will be more opportunities for all of our students! 💛🖤

We’re excited to share the Summer of Football Filmmaking Challenge Winners!

To mark Scotland qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998, we invited our Scottish academies to get behind the camera and tell us one thing:
what does football mean to you?

The films were amazing. From powerful storytelling to creative camera work and bags of Scottish pride, our judges were genuinely blown away by the passion and originality in every single entry.

🏆 A huge congratulations to our winners:
✨ Beyond the Pitch – Joe, PQA Glasgow
✨ Pitch Perfect – Emma, PQA Glasgow
✨ Amelie’s Video – Amelie, PQA Edinburgh East Lothian

Your films stood out for all the right reasons, creativity, skill and storytelling!

👏 And to everyone who entered, thank you. You’ve captured the spirit of football (and PQA!) perfectly, and you’ve got us all ready for a fantastic summer of cheering, celebrating and coming together for the World Cup!

🎥 Watch the winning films here: www.pqacademy.com/about-us/news/summer-of-football-challenge-winners/

They did it!! We’re so proud of every one of our Green group who performed their first show for friends and family - Aladdin was fantastic 💚

Happy Pride Month! 🌈 At PQA Edinburgh East Lothian we celebrate individuality, creativity, self-expression, and the importance of being unapologetically yourself. Our academies create a space where every student feels seen, supported, and encouraged to be exactly as they are. 💛

We had a great few days at PQA HQ this week for our principal top up training! It was absolutely roasting but we survived and have some very exciting projects and plans for next term 🌞

We are so lucky at PQA Edinburgh East Lothian to have such a lovely new venue at Wallyford Learning Campus with a full theatre space to rehears - our shows are really coming along!

It's Mental Health Week, and this year’s theme is 'Action', a reminder that we all have the power to take small, meaningful steps to support our mental health and the wellbeing of those around us.

Whether it’s checking in on a friend, trying something new, or simply giving yourself permission to pause… every action counts. At PQA, we see first-hand how powerful the performing arts can be in supporting mental wellbeing. Through acting, singing, and dancing, young people don’t just learn skills, they build friendships, resilience, and have a safe space to grow. Our academies are warm and inclusive, where young people are encouraged to be themselves and feel supported by those around them. 💛

💭 What’s one small action you can take this week to support your mental health, or someone else’s?

This is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Scottish football and put our film making skills on show! Get involved and share with your friends as this competition is open to ALL! 📽️

Scotland has qualified for the World Cup for the first time since the 90s, and that absolutely deserves a celebration!

With all this brilliant news buzzing around, our Scottish Academies PQA Glasgow, PQA West Lothian and PQA Edinburgh East Lothian , kicked off by taking on a special Football Filmmaking Challenge, and we’re cheering them on from the sidelines!

This challenge is exclusive to Scotland and open to both PQA and non‑PQA young people aged 6–17.

The challenge is to create a 60–90 second short film showing what football means to them. It could be a favourite memory, a dream moment, a celebration, a feeling... anything that tells their story and brings it to life on camera.

It’s a fun, creative way to dip into filmmaking and storytelling while celebrating everything football and performing arts, while using some of the shared skills from both of these two wonderful activities: teamwork, confidence, creativity and tenacity. All the skills that young people use whether their on the pitch or centre stage.

We can’t wait to see what football moments our young filmmakers create! ⚽🎥

There are some brilliant prizes up for grabs too! Learn more and enter by visiting our website: www.pqacademy.com/about-us/news/summer-of-football-challenge/

This week our Green group had their first go with the green screen! It's been so much fun creating their characters and soon, with a little digital magic from our amazing Film &TV teacher Brian, they will see their ideas come to life! 📽️

From all at PQA Edinburgh East Lothian we would like to wish our Neighbours to the west PQA West Lothian all the best for their launch tomorrow! Have a blast!! 💃🏻

Our Blues and Reds have come together to rehearse Legally blonde jr 🩷