High school pupils from the Falkirk area who completed the School-College Opportunities to Succeed (SCOTS) programme, were presented with certificates this week to recognise their achievement.
At the special event held at Forth Valley College’s Falkirk Campus on Tuesday 5 June, a total of 33 pupils were joined by their parents and College staff – including Ernie Romer FVC’s School Partnership Coordinator and David MacKay, Head of Education for Falkirk Council - who were all keen to celebrate the successful programme.
Award winners on the day were Lucy McLaren from Grangemouth High School, who won the Inspire Award, Steven Laird from Larbert High School who won the Outstanding Personal Achievement Award and Jennifer Howarth from Larbert High School who won the Student of the Year Award.
Jennifer (15), who would like a career doing make-up in the fashion industry, said: “I was shocked to win SCOTS Student of the Year, but it feels so amazing. I really enjoyed the SCOTS course. The best bit about the programme is that you can try new subjects and if you don’t like them, you know you will be able to move on to something that you do like pretty soon. I would recommend it.”
Lucy (16), who hopes to return to college to study a media course in the future, said: “It’s amazing to have won this award, I have never won anything like this before and it has inspired me to succeed in life as much as I can.”
Steven (15), who hope to become a PE teacher, said: “I feel really good at winning this, but it was a great surprise. The best bit for me on the course was the sport section. I would recommend SCOTS to anyone.”
The ground-breaking partnership between Forth Valley College and Falkirk Council, allowed mainly fourth year pupils to attend college one afternoon per week to experience eight different subjects including: Construction Crafts, Science, Care, Business, Engineering, Salon Services, Fitness, Health and Exercise and Creative Industries and to work towards SQA employability units throughout the course.
Within the local schools, the young people involved worked with teachers to improve their skills for learning, skills for work and skills for life. They also developed employability skills such as - researching for jobs, creating a CV, preparing for interviews and also learning more about the “taster” subjects they were undertaking within Forth Valley College.
Forth Valley College Principal Dr Ken Thomson, said: “This is the fifth Falkirk SCOTS graduation and each year I am bowled over by how the SCOTS programme has managed to inspire and encourage pupils, who may well have left school without any experience of the opportunities available to them at college. I was delighted to celebrate the completion of their course along with them and can’t wait to see many of them return in the future on other courses that we offer here. We hope they found SCOTS to be worthwhile and of great benefit in helping them make up their minds as to which study route they might want to take in life.
“The SCOTS programme has certainly been a great success and an excellent example of the close working partnership between Forth Valley College and Falkirk Council. We are already looking forward to welcoming our next cohort of learners who will be able to experience the benefits of the SCOTS programme at Forth Valley College.”
David Mackay, Head of Education for Falkirk Council, said: “Once again the SCOTS programme has delivered for our young people in Falkirk and yet again our young people have risen to the challenge. I am delighted with the positive impact our ongoing partnership with Forth Valley College and Falkirk Council has had. The programme has gone from strength to strength, due to the hard work and dedication of all involved.”
