The Higher Mortals is a film produced by the Children's Film Unit in 1993, directed by Colin Finbow and distributed by Channel Four Films. It was filmed in south Suffolk and north Essex, and received its sole TV transmission on Channel 4 on 25 September 1994, also being shown at the 1994 Edinburgh International Film Festival. It deals with the problems suffered by many smaller girls' boarding schools during the early 1990s recession, and makes use of metaphor and analogy in its critique of the John Major government of the day. It notably features early appearances by the now prominent actresses Jemima Rooper and Clemency Burton-Hill.