This film is part of Free
Susan Goes to Sompting
Veteran tennis commentator Peter West takes us on a journey around a boarding school for disabled children.
Overview
Sompting Abbey was a boarding school providing respite for disabled children's families in the 1960s. Although the language around disability is clearly dated, the tone of the film is quite enlightened for its times - Susan generally attends a mainstream day school but goes to boarding school to give her parents a break. This was unusual for its day, when the inclusion of disabled schoolchildren wasn't routinely considered.
The Invalid Children's Aid Association who commissioned this film began as a Victorian philanthropic charity. It still exists and is now renamed I Can, and more recently did pioneering work on the diagnosis of dyslexia.
Related
Zero Hour Zero Hour
Charity appeal 1928 8 mins Silent
"In the kingdom of the blind, the St Dunstan's man is king": how blinded WWI soldiers set up their own businesses.
Disabled Fundraiser Disabled Fundraiser
News 1974 4 mins Location: Tamworth
Disabled ex-miner Derek Sewell lets his chair do the talking in his quest to help people with mobility issues.
Lest We Forget Lest We Forget
Charity appeal 1937 8 mins Silent Location: Andover
Charles Laughton stars in this appeal film for Enham Village Centre, where WWI servicemen with disabilities are cared for.
Lanlivery Special School Lanlivery Special School
Current affairs 1976 2 mins Silent Location: Lanlivery
Special School receives a special visit.
East End Cripples Enjoy a Happy Days Outing in Epping Forest East End Cripples Enjoy a Happy Days Outing in Epping Forest
Non-Fiction 1911 2 mins Silent Location: Epping Forest
Disabled East End ‘ragged’ children go on a trip to the country - but not everyone seems happy
It's Like Getting Wings It's Like Getting Wings
Short documentary 1970 13 mins
Thanks to the Winged Fellowship Trust disabled guests at Crabhill House enjoy a fortnight’s holiday that can make a real difference
Southern Seaside Southern Seaside
Travelogue 1935 15 mins Silent Location: Bournemouth
Anyone for a trip to the seaside? From Bournemouth to Margate via Brighton and Folkestone – sunny delights in abundance.
Folkestone Spacious and Gracious Folkestone Spacious and Gracious
Promotional 1969 10 mins Location: Folkestone
There's something for everyone in Folkestone as this promotional film claims - including lidos, fine dining, cliff railways and the weirdest fitness machines ever seen
Channel Between Channel Between
Amateur film 1964 16 mins Silent Location: Gravesend
Wilf Green and his family enjoy a day out in Calais before returning to Deal for more sight-seeing in this delightful film from the mid-sixties
World Premiere of "Kipps" World Premiere of "Kipps"
Documentary 1941 6 mins Location: Folkestone
Glamour comes to wartime Folkestone as the town hosts its first world film premiere.
Walk around Folkestone Walk around Folkestone
Amateur film 1985 5 mins Silent Location: Folkestone
Folkestone on foot is the subject of this quirky and mysterious film from the 1980s which hints that there is a lot more to the town than just a ferry terminal.
Edwardian Folkestone Edwardian Folkestone
Non-Fiction 1904 7 mins Silent Location: Folkestone
From road sweepers to rollercoasters - all life is here in this stunning portrait of Folkestone in its Edwardian heyday.
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.