Ambassador role award for BCHS trio
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THE efforts of three Buckie Community High School (BCHS) students to promote the wide range and depth of qualifications available at the school has seen them win an award.
S5 prefects Leonie Robertson, Neve Findlayson and Elle McLaren are the school's ambassadors for the Scottish Credits and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) which aims to highlight the many alternative qualifications available to young people outside the traditional exam routes.
Their dedication to spreading the word among their peers saw them earn a silver award for BCHS from SCQF, having secured their bronze accreditation last year.
It was to be a voyage of discovery for the trio as they set about opening the eyes of their peers as to the varied options which awaited them. This includes options such as courses at college and qualifications such as SCQF Level 6, which is equivalent to a Higher and is recognised as such by universities.
The girls have also earned the extra reward of seeing BCHS chosen as a test case for the Scottish Government's National Improvement Framework.
Their journey as SCQF ambassadors has been a long one, beginning with an interview with BCHS Rector Neil Johnson and PT Enhanced Curriculum Kerr Taylor in competition with other candidates. In addition to fielding some probing questions on the SCQF programme, they had to discuss their individual plans to improve the school.
However, it has all paid off as the trio now go for gold.
They said: "We have achieved our bronze and silver SCQF awards for the school where we are one of nine schools in Scotland to achieve the silver award.
"We have also been highlighted by the Scottish Government as a case study in the National Improvement Framework for our collaborative approach to curriculum development. This is further recognition of the hard work and dedication of the staff to meet the learners' needs.
"In the near future we hope to continue to educate our peers and staff and hope to further improve Buckie High School's curriculum by incorporating more National Progression Awards [NPA] and hopefully gain our gold SCQF."
BCHS Rector Neil Johnson congratulated the trio for their hard work spreading the word about the different qualification paths offered by the school.
He continued: "I’m delighted with this award.
"As well as recognising the hard work of our SCQF ambassadors, the award is based upon the hard work being done by staff across the school to broaden the curriculum and provide more courses that are relevant to the types of pathways young people take these days.
"Although still a work in progress we need everyone to recognise that there is more to education than National 5s and Highers."
The girls' first role as ambassadors was to investigate college links and subject choices at the school, working with BCHS depute rector Sean Duffy. They were to discover a wider range of links with the likes of Moray College and Nescol, which stood alongside foundation apprenticeships, work placements and NPA qualifications.
This could was then shared with staff at an after-school meeting featuring guest speakers, including Developing the Young Workforce co-ordinator Kelly Cormack and SCQF development officer Donnie Wood.
The next focus was to get the message out to the wider school, which was done via a series of year assemblies to give an insight as to the SCQG and what it could do for students in later life.
The final link in the chain was to reach out to parents. This included a video summary of the presentation given to students, which was then uploaded onto social media platforms.
Also on the schedule was a visit to the S3 parents' evening where they set up a stall complete with leaflets and posters. They chatted with parents about course choices while promoting their video.
Leonie, Neve and Elle are all set to go into S6 in the summer and will be joined by some new ambassadors to help out.
