1) The documentary explores LGBTQ+ experiences in the Northeast of England and finds that 62.7% of people surveyed had negative experiences and 89.8% heard homophobia. 2) It interviews the director of Northern Pride, the largest LGBTQ+ charity in the Northeast, which aims to promote pride and education while addressing discrimination. 3) It visits two schools - Durham Sixth Form College which has an active LGBTQ+ society providing support, and Seaham High School with inclusive policies and confidential support for LGBTQ+ students.

1. LGBT IN THE NE
Written by
Fern Gallagher

2. FOOTGAGE. OF SUNDERLAND PEOPLE IN 80'S PRIDE PARADES, PRIDE
FLAGS AROUND THE NORTH EAST
FADE TO:TITLE SCREEN
FERN
being LGBT is not a new thing, in
the UK, some of the earliest
documented queer history was from
1800s which icons such as Oscar
Wilde, Virginia Woolf, Alan Turing
and Bobby Britt
(add photos of people
here)
Now, in the UK, there is reportedly
16 million lgbtq people.
And out of these 16 million,384
thousand are from here, the
northeast.
(Add some videos of
different north east
cities)
But just how good is the North East
at supporting it's lgbtq
individuals?
I'm Fern and join me as I find out
all about being LGBT in the NE.
FADE TO:BLACK
PART 1-LGBT CHARITIES IN THE NORTH EAST
From a recent survey, conducted by
me, an overwhelming 62.7% of people
living in the northeast, have had a
negative experience with being
LGBT.
And out of the people I surveyed, a
shocking 89.8% of people had
experienced or heard some form of
homophobia while living in the
north east.
But why is this?
I decided to do some investigation,
asking the local community about
their opinions on the matter and if
they feel as if there is enough
support for lgbt individuals.
Recording for short interviews
FADE IN .SEARCHING ONLINE, LGBT CHARITIES

3. Written with Arc Studio: www.arcstudiopro.com 2.
I/E. FOOTAGE, DIFFERENT LGBT CHARITY WEBSITES
(HUMAN KIND, RAINBOW
HOME,RAINBOW
FOUNDATION,NORTHERN
PRIDE)
vo. LGBT Charities are set up to
support the community and raise
awareness and educate people who
may not be a part of the community.
Minister for Equalities, Baroness
Williams, said:
'LGBT charities in the UK provide a
range of exceptional respectful and
supportive services.'
It provides a sense of community
for those who may have just come
out or those who may not have
family support. I wanted to reach
out to northeast charities and see
how they feel about supporting
young lgbt people.
FADE TO:BLACK
FERN
(vo.) From researching online, I
found that the most prominent
charity in the North East is,
'Northern Pride'
Northern Pride is a charity based
in Newcastle, which was set up in
August 2007 following the closure
of Pride on the Tyne.
Northern Pride was incorporated as
a limited company in 2009 to give
the organization greater
accountability and protection and
is a registered charity. The
festival has become a regional
event with a large following.
Their mission statement is:
“To proudly promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
culture through public celebration of our heritage and
engaging in education and cultural activities that enrich
the community, whilst raising awareness of the issues people
face regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, gender
expression and sex characteristics whilst building mutual
respect and working to end discrimination.'

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Northern pride, like many other charities in the northeast
for queer people, allows people to celebrate their sexuality
and self-affirmation. It is a time to celebrate but also to
raise awareness on how damaging homophobia could be and
still can be.
I decided to sit down with the
director of Northern Pride and ask
him some questions about the
charity and being LGBT in the
northeast.
CUT TO:
EXT. TRAVELLING TO/ SETTING UP FOR INTERVIEW WITH STE.
INT. INTERVIEW WITH STE
Reflect on interview
INT. FOOTGAGE. OF SUNDERLAND PEOPLE IN 80'S PRIDE PARADES,
PRIDE FLAGS AROUND THE NORTH EAST
Episode 2-Schools in the north east
FERN
In April 2019, with overwhelming
support, parliament passed the new
regulations for teaching
Relationships and Sex Education in
England and since September 2020
all secondary schools are required
to teach about sexuality and gender
identity and at a primary school
level, all schools must teach about
families, which includes lgbtq+.

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However, In the news and a survey
carried about by Just like us in
2021, 48% of LGBT pupils had little
to zero positive messaging about
being lgbt.
In fact, Lgbtq+ pupils were assumed
to be one of the most at risk
groups in the North East to be most
isolated during the pandemic.
Joel Groves, Ambassador of Just
like us stated 'The North East is
still very rooted in its working-
class history. A lot of the ideas
and norms that became so
commonplace in the shipyards and
mining communities are still very
much present. Unfortunately, it
means a lot of the outdated LGBT+
phobic norms remain. This means
that the culture at large in the
North East is quite hostile to
young LGBT+ people and it’s really
easy to internalise that.
Young people who don’t feel
supported and face bullying because
their peers don’t understand them
are undoubtedly more likely to
suffer mental health issues.'
In fact, on a whole. LGBT pupils
are more likely to develop panic
and anxiety disorders in comparison
to their heterosexual counterparts.
I decided to reach out to local
secondary schools and colleges to
see what they were doing to support
queer students.
DSFS
Durham Sixth Form Centre is a mixed
sixth form located in Durham,
County Durham, England. In 2020,
their LGBT society started back up
again and started gaining a lot of
new members.
(MORE)

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DSFS (CONT'D)
I decided to sit down with the
leader and some members to find out
how they feel about having support
at college.
INSERT INTERVIEWS HERE, WITH STUDENTS AND LEADERS.
FERN
Durham sixth form allows its
students a safe space to share
their own experiences with others
like them, its nice to see how the
group is student led. Allowing the
older group members to support the
younger group members.
SEAHAM HIGH SCHOOL
FERN
Seaham High School, formally known
as Seaham School of Technology, is
a coeducational secondary school
located in Seaham, County Durham,
England, for pupils aged 11–16. It
is the only secondary school in the
area, acting as a hub for most year
6 children leaving the local
primary schools.
I was lucky enough to be able to
sit in on some of their LGBT
meetings.
As per their wishes, I did not
record while I was in there.
However, what they had in place for
their students was absolutely
incredible.
Seaham High school has many gender-
neutral toilets for their non-
binary/ trans students. They have
allowed kids to start doing P.E in
whatever they want whether that be
'girl' pe or 'boy' pe.
They have weekly meetings with
their LGBT students and get them
involved in a lot of activities,
it's all fully confidential.
From only being there for a few
hours, I could tell students felt
happy and comfortable.
(MORE)

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FERN (CONT'D)
It was a very heartwarming
experience as I was happy that
students got experiences that I
didn't. I think that schools should
take notice from Seaham high school
of how easy it is to make changes
for queer students.
CUT TO:WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW
FERN
Yes you, If you're from the north
east. Here is what you can do to
support the LGBT community in your
area.
1.Check if your school/ college has
an LGBT organisation-If it does,
then great. You could join to
support the LGBT students and find
out what they are trying to do in
your area for LGBT people.
If your school/ college doesn't
have an LGBT society then maybe try
starting one, find a few friends/
people who might one to get
involved and ask your teachers how
you can go about starting a club.
2.If you see something say
something,If you hear someone using
homophobic language or making
comments, say something. This is
something that in 2022, should
still not be normalised.
3. Read, learn about and discuss
LGBTQ issues. It is important to
stay up to date and support LGBT
news, so that the community around
you can feel more supported.
4. Wear Lgbt-friendly badges or
stickers. Having a small pin and
sticker of either the gay pride
flag or the ally symbol, allows
queer people to not feel so alone
and maybe a bit more confident in
their community.
DISSOLVE TO:END