Believe it or not mums, dads and guardians, now is the time that youngsters should be thinking about positive activities to fill up those summer holidays.
Yes we know it is April and barely a week after the Easter break, but now’s the time for Junior or Miss Junior – or more to the point now’s the time for you to be helping Junior or Miss Junior - plan what to do in between the brilliant first week of school freedom and the family fortnight away.
That’s where Forth Valley College’s innovative Summer Schools – all three pencilled in for July - may have the answer. Believe it or not, this initiative is not just some quick fix, gimmick activity to get them out the house, out from under your feet and out of their room for a couple of hours. This is the real deal to provide them with fun, inspiration and creativity which could focus their minds on a career path for life… but it does have the added benefit of getting them out of the house for as few days as well!
Summer Schools on offer include Junior Chef and Traditional Building , both at the Stirling Campus, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) at the Falkirk Campus.
Aimed at pupils in the Forth Valley area soon to start high school to those just about to leave, the schools will open up a whole new world to young people who want to reinforce the path they want to take when they leave school and also to those who are looking to turn that spark of interest in a subject into a full blown career.
Of course they will be given valuable information on career development and educational opportunities while they are there, but the focus will be on enjoyment through interactive experience and we are confident we can make them want to find out more about the things they try, by the end of their workshops.
So what can they look forward to:
Well from 24-28 July, kids aged between 10-14 year olds will be encouraged to cook and taste food from around the world as well as getting the chance to make tasty savoury and sweet dishes such as fajitas and nachos, Victoria sponge cake and macaroni cheese, in the Junior Chef Summer School at the Stirling Campus. This has the added bonus for family members that they might come home with a doggy bag and maybe even start cooking and baking at home!
At the STEM Summer School based at the Falkirk Campus – from 3-7 July, curiosity is the key for young people as they discover what’s in Irn Bru (liquid chromatography), and find out more about instrumental techniques, atomic absorption, blood sampling and augmented reality through a fantastic mix of hands-on practical workshops and project work.
And between 3-6 July at the Stirling Campus, the Traditional Building Skills Summer School - for S4-S6 pupils – will develop a wide range of practical hands-on skills including carpentry and joinery, decorative skills, stonemasonry and roofwork, as well as visiting buildings and projects of educational relevance and importance.
So if these sound like they might be up your kids’ street – and you want them to do more than lounge about the house and stare at computer screens all summer – then register your interest today.
Click here or call 01324 403000.