On Wednesday 25th January a careers event was held at Calderhead High School. In the morning a very successful ‘friends of Calderhead’ event had been organised involving a variety of former pupils, parents and relatives of staff at the school. The ten invited speakers arrived at the school bright and early and received a complimentary breakfast from the catering staff as a thank you for giving up their time, knowledge and expertise. The presenters had all planned a short 20 minute presentation detailing their own personal experience of school, the grades that they attained and the journey they have taken leading them to their current role.
Our S3 pupils then had the opportunity to hear insightful, inspiring, and honest representations of working in an industry that they had expressed interest in.
Former pupils Lauren Brown (nee Robertson) and Kim Milroy spoke to small groups about the rewarding but sometimes emotional work as a carer.
Steven Smith who currently works for Streetleague, a provider supporting unemployed 16-24 year olds to move into sustained employment using the power of sport, delivered a very honest and well thought out presentation about his school career and his journey through college and university. He inspired the pupils with his positive message regarding the importance of setting small achievable targets about future ambitions. Steven explained to the pupils that he now aspires to join the police force and also pursue his dream of becoming an SPFL referee.
Thanks go to all the ‘friends of Calderhead’ Gordon Muir, Ross Mitchell, Kim Milroy, Lauren Brown, Gillian Tannahill, Steven Smith, Billy Morley, Steven Lake, Tom Stewart and Emma Reid for their input at the event.
S1 and S2 pupils took part in a teacher pathway quiz in the morning. A variety of members of staff had passed on their own pathways from secondary school to commencement of their teaching careers and the pupils involved were given a series of clues to try and select the teacher that fitted the clues. Feedback from staff and pupils found that Pupil Support and RMPS teacher Mrs Buchanan was the most surprising! Mrs Buchanan had in fact left school at the end of S4 and worked in a variety of roles including cashier and supervisor in a petrol station before taking voluntary redundancy and making the decision to return to college to complete her Highers before achieving her university degree and postgraduate teaching degree.
In the afternoon, twenty one providers attended a more traditional careers fayre, which was hosted in the assembly hall. First up were S1 and S2 who had been given some questions to find answers to allow them to develop their own knowledge regarding the world of work and further and higher education. These pupils demonstrated excellent communication skills and engaged fully with providers. Mhairi Taylor from the Premier Inn commented on the maturity and politeness of the pupils and was impressed with the questions that were asked regarding pursuing a career in the hospitality industry. Many of the S2 pupils left feeling that they had more of an idea about what careers they wanted to get involved in when they left school. Following this session our S3 and S4 students had opportunity to gather information regarding the academic qualifications that would be required for taking up apprenticeships, gaining employment or moving onto further and higher education. In addition to this, our providers were all keen to express the importance of skills such as communication, teamwork and good timekeeping and attendance. Norman Blackburn discussed the apprenticeship schemes that Kwik Fit provide and made it clear that the single most important attribute was a willingness to work hard and show enthusiasm and motivation to learn and develop.
The final session of the day involved S5/6 pupils, parents of pupils from a variety of stages and members of the community who were able to access all the support and services the providers could offer. A number of the senior pupils were able to take away information about apprenticeship opportunities in the engineering, construction and childcare sectors.
Calderhead High School would like to thank all those who attended and supported the event.
