Filmmaker Twig branches out into US schools

TWIG, a Scottish producer of educational science films, has signed a major distribution deal with US school supplier Carolina Biological which provides scientific equipment and resources to half of the country’s secondary schools.

The Glasgow-based company has joined the Smithsonian Institute as one of the few content partners of Carolina Biological in an agreement that will see Twig’s products made available to more than 180,000 teachers and 15,000 schools. Twig’s products were developed in Scotland and, working through GLOW, the Scottish educational intranet, were trialed in Scottish schools last year.

The first products were launched in January and the contract with Carolina Biological is the first of a number of international distribution agreements the company expects to announce in the coming months.

Twig’s films are available to Scotland’s 2,500 state schools and involve rigorous research processes by a team working closely with more than 100 teachers and scientists.

As well as being used in the classroom, Twig’s films can be viewed at home on a laptop, or even downloaded onto a smartphone, providing flexibility for teachers and pupils to view them at any time.

Twig has grown from five employees to 48 in two years and has a projected turnover of £1 million this year.

Anthony Bouchier, chief executive, said the US deal would open an exciting market. “It is a major milestone for a start-up company to have achieved in such a short period of time. Having access to an extensive network of secondary schools and teachers in collaboration with a respected company such as Carolina Biological will help raise our profile and allow us to develop more films for schools, not only in the United States but throughout the world.”

Bouchier said Scotland had the chance to lead the way in the provision of multimedia content in schools.

“We have worked closely with Education Scotland, which has enabled us to supply schools with cutting edge material and are now able to use this experience on an international platform as part of our expansion plans,” he said.

“We aim to treble turnover in the next three years and this deal alone can generate an additional £2 million to our current projections in the coming years.”

Jim Parrish, chief executive of Carolina, said: “In the United States, more than 400,000 teachers and ten million students use Carolina products and our materials every day. This relationship with Twig continues our 80-year tradition of partnering with best in class providers of instructional programs and Twig stands tall among our other esteemed partners including the Smithsonian Institution and the University of California.”