Saturday morning and several texts from friends are a forceful reminder that this week a year in our lives is about to become public property - thanks to Blast Films and The Big School Lottery.

Almost exactly a year ago, enjoying the sunshine at the King Edward's Five Ways School Open Day, I fell into conversation (as I tend to do!) with the woman standing beside me. We chatted, exchanging the usual 'children' small talk, discussing our impressions of the school, its pupils, the Head. "So, which other schools are you considering?" I asked. Small silence. "Oh I'm not here as a parent....we're making a film about the secondary transfer process in Birmingham..." My interest was caught, more discussion..."Would you be interested in taking part?"

How could I resist? As a pupil, parent and teacher, I have experienced almost every aspect of the good and the bad that is British education.  I jump at the chance to be involved in anything that will raise the profile of the issues surrounding our iniquitous system. But it's not about me, it's Harry who the programme will focus on - our youngest son aged 10 - as he begins the process of transferring from primary to secondary school.

I have been through the school application process three times before - each one in a different place, with different issues and different outcomes! For Harry it will be the one and only time in his life he will face this important milestone. How would he feel about having it recorded, being followed by a camera crew, asked to describe his feelings, his thoughts on everything at various significant points? In typical Harry style, he is very laid back about the whole thing - "sounds fun", "why not?"

A week or so later it had begun for real as we found ourselves, complete with radio mics and accompanying camera crew, the object of major curiosity as we squeezed our way along the crowded corridors at the next school's open day. Throughout the year, those camera crews became an intrinsic accompaniment to each important school occasion - open days, the 11+, entrance exams, results days, the decision process. They followed Harry at school, in classes, with his friends, at games and in drama club. Snapshots of our family life were filmed, our opinions, our thoughts recorded, immortalised forever.  Being filmed became a part of our lives until, on Friday 3rd September 2010, after following Harry on his first day at his new school, finally it was finished.

So did we regret getting involved? In typical Harry style, he is still very laid back about the whole thing - "mostly it was fun", "I'm quite sad it's finished - I'll miss them". For me - I'm glad we got involved. I have enjoyed meeting the team, sharing my thoughts and being part of the fascinating process of creating a documentary.

What will the final film say about us, about Birmingham and most importantly about education? I hope above all that it, and the other films in the series, will raise awareness of the fundamental importance of education in our society and the urgent need to address the educational issues facing us in Britain today. I hope that it will inspire a collective desire not just to criticise, accuse or blame as is so often the tendency nowadays, but to seek constructive solutions and to look at positive ways to improve that which lies at the core of our civilisation.

For now, I must climb off the soapbox.... eagerly to await the outcome of the last year's adventure in the world of television!

Lesley Wilson and her son Harry appear in The Big School Lottery programme.

Read Julie Newbold's BBC TV blog entry about her job as head of admissions and appeals at Birmingham City Council.

The Big School Lottery starts on Tuesday, 7 September at 9pm on BBC Two.

To find out all future episodes of The Big School Lottery please visit the show's upcoming episode page.