Business Enterprise Bulletin issue 10

issue ten March 2016
BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
Science
2issue ten
BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
W
elcome to the tenth issue of the
Business Enterprise Bulletin, which
highlights recent enterprising events
and successes across the authority.
This includes the launch of Interaction 3, a
challenge run by leading architectural practice
Keppie Design and the launch of Enterprising Stars,
an innovative enterprise initiative designed for
pupils with additional support needs.
Enterprising
STARS
This edition has a particular focus on STEM – Science,
Technology, Enterprise and Maths, and all the wonderful
events taking place in our schools, in partnership with
local companies and Ayrshire College which are helping to
inspire our young people.
Contents
Enterprising Stars
2
Girls Get into STEM
3
Out of This World
4
Houstoun Calling
4
Interaction 2
5
KESS Sience Project
5
Interaction 3
6
Grange Maths on Tour
7
Loudoun Leads the Way
8
Not All Superheroes Have Capes
8
Me2U9
Annanhill STEMS
10
Water, Water Everywhere
12
Success is on the Horizon
13
Schools in Brief
14
The Enterprising Stars challenge, which launched recently, has
been specially created for pupils with additional support needs
(ASN), and is one of the first initiatives of its kind in Scotland.
The Council is committed to providing pupils with the same experiences
as their mainstream counterparts.
Park School competed in last year’s Sir Tom Hunter challenge creating an
innovative ID badge with a pen holder incorporated into the design.
The team’s excellent pitch to the panel of ‘dragons’ encouraged
organisers to develop an initiative just for special schools and supported
learning centres.
Schools and local supported learning centres attended the launch to sign
up for the initiative and they have from now until Friday 22 April to come
up with a winning product.
The initiative is being supported by Developing the Young Workforce
Ayrshire and local businesses including, Munro Architects, Kilmarnock
Removals, QTS, the Galleon Centre and the Ayrshire Chamber of
Commerce who were all on hand to help.
The businesses will provide expert advice and guidance throughout the
initiative and will help with judging on the day.
Councillor Stephanie Primrose, Cabinet Member for Skills and Learning
said: “As one of the first in Scotland, this new enterprise initiative has
been organised for our pupils with additional support needs. Our young
people have the same skills as mainstream pupils and these skills can be
developed through enterprise events. We want this experience to be
meaningful and with the support of local businesses we can help break
down barriers and address inequalities.
“I can’t wait to see what fantastic ideas the teams come up with. I am sure
that they will be very impressive.”
Judging will take place on Friday 22 April with prizes for the best product
or service, best trade stand, best presentation, best company
name and best logo.
BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
issue ten
3
Girls get into STEM
at Ayrshire College
Over fifty pupils from East Ayrshire schools participated in an event at Ayrshire
College which provided an insight into the opportunities available for young
women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
The College’s ‘Developing the Young Workforce’ team worked in partnership with the Council to
encourage more girls and women to consider a career in traditionally male-dominated sectors.
The S2 pupils from Auchinleck, Grange and Stewarton Academies took part in activities across the
Engineering and Science, Automotive Vehicles and Computing departments at the Kilmarnock campus.
The pupils took part in interactive workshops and chatted with the lecturers about careers in
STEM industries.
A number of the pupils said after the event that the workshops had been a real eye-opener, and
they were now going to think seriously about a career in STEM.
Jenny Thomas, from Stewarton Academy said: “I know I want to do something technical. I’m not
sure what yet, but this event has been great, I’ve enjoyed trying out the different areas available.”
Abbie Fleming, from Grange Academy said: “I loved seeing around the garage area at the College.
My dad’s a mechanic and I’ll be following in his footsteps.”
Martyn Hendry, STEM co-ordinator for the Council, said: “What we’re trying to do is raise the
whole profile within the STEM subjects for young people. This event is aimed specifically at
girls that are going to be leaving school in the next few years and highlighting the exciting career
opportunities that are available in the STEM industry.
“We are hoping to inspire young people to think about choosing science and maths subjects at
school and start preparing for an exciting and rewarding career in the STEM sector.”
Marla Baird, Equality and Inclusion Manager at Ayrshire College, said: “The event is really important
because we know females are underrepresented in the STEM areas. It helps to make them think
more widely about their career choices.”
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BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
Houston Calling…
Ayrshire to host out of
this world opportunity
The Ayrshire College
Foundation has announced that
for the first time ever, Ayrshire
school pupils and college
students will have the chance
to work alongside NASA
leaders and Astronaut Michael
Foale CBE, on the Mission
Discovery programme.
astronaut in the history of human
spaceflight and the first Briton to
perform a spacewalk.
This exceptional learning experience
is like no other, with students
learning all about space in the
company of NASA leaders. ‘Mission
Discovery’ is proven to enhance
students’ scientific and technological
skillset, while developing innovation
Mission Discovery is a week-long
educational programme developed and team work.
Primary school pupils will also benefit
by the International Space School
from Mission Discovery coming
Educational Trust (ISSET) and is
to Ayrshire as they will take part
running for its third consecutive
in a unique competition to design
year in Scotland.
a ‘Mission Patch’ for the Mission
Around 200 selected secondary
Discovery Ayrshire 2016 programme.
school pupils and college students
Every primary school in Ayrshire
will start the opportunity of a
will submit a design to be judged
lifetime on 13 June 2016.
internally by each of the three
Prestwick Airport, bidding to
local authority areas in Ayrshire.
become the UK’s first Spaceport,
East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire
will host the space event in their
and South Ayrshire will put those
Aviator Suite.
three winning designs forward to
The lucky participants will work in
a neutral judging panel including
teams, aided by mentors, to develop
ISSET and NASA staff who will
their own space experiments – with
select the overall winner.
the winners having their experiment
There is a huge incentive for the
built, launched to the International
pupils to win the first stage of the
Space Station and carried out by an
competition, as each of the three
Astronaut in space.
schools to make the final shortlist
All three council areas in Ayrshire
will receive a visit from Astronaut
will each put forward 50 pupils for
Micheal Foale!
this amazing week-long adventure,
A programme of public events will
while Ayrshire College will select
also run throughout the Mission
50 students from its STEM
Discovery Space Week. The
(Science, Technology, Engineering
Ayrshire College Foundation has
and Mathematics) courses.
launched a new website, http://
A major perk for the participants
www.ayrshirecollegefoundation.org.
will be the chance to work with
uk/, where more information on
Michael Foale CBE. Michael is the
the event will be available.
most experienced British-born
Dylan Speir from Loudoun Academy returned at the end of
last year from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston,
Texas, having had an ‘extraordinary’ experience.
Dylan, 16, was selected for the trip from hundreds of young people
from across Scotland through the Scottish Space School programme.
The star science student, now in sixth year, enjoyed a seven-day
‘learning journey’ to the Space Center in Houston.
Dylan said: “It was far from just an ordinary trip, it was amazing, fantastic,
spectacular, excellent and tremendous. To pick a highlight of the trip is
impossible as I can honestly say I fully enjoyed every single second of it.
“As, hopefully, a future pilot I really enjoyed the “wings over Houston”
air show and found speaking to the pilots particularly inspirational.
The behind the scenes tour of NASA was brilliant and its history was
fascinating.
“Although the activities were out of this world, it was the people that
made the trip one that I’ll always treasure. Everyone we met in Texas,
from astronauts to engineers to doctors couldn’t have made us feel
more welcome or have been anymore inspirational. I couldn’t have
done any of this without the space school and I’ll be forever grateful to
those who gave me this chance of a lifetime.”
Councillor Stephanie Primrose, Cabinet Member for Skills and Learning
said: “A total of ten Scottish pupils were given the rare opportunity to
meet with many of the astronauts, engineers and scientists working on
the space programme at NASA.
“They were selected from a shortlist of over 100 from all over Scotland
who attended the Scottish Space School at Strathclyde University in
June, following a rigorous selection process.
“The week-long residential school featured a mix of space lectures, labs
and workshops, delivered by leading academics and supported by NASA
astronauts and engineers.
“I am delighted that Dylan enjoyed this experience. It was a real ‘trip of
a lifetime’ and he thoroughly deserves to be recognised for all his hard
work and commitment to school life at Loudoun Academy.”
Dylan will be studying aeronautical engineering at Strathclyde University
when he finishes his sixth year.
BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
Interaction 2
takes a front seat for
challenge winners
Winning Interaction 2 was just the beginning of an exciting
journey for the enterprise team from Cumnock Academy.
In a recent visit to Character Joinery in Kilmarnock, the young people saw
their ideas for the new Ayrshire College campus brought to life.
They were given a tour of the workshop by Director Kelvin Murray and
shown a half-scale model of their modern seating area design, which will
be housed within the top floor of the new Ayrshire College campus.
The team also chatted with Keppie Design’s Ryan Sylvester and Kelvin
about the alterations that could be made to improve their initial concept
for the final product.
15-year-old Aiden McGregor said: “I think it’s been a really good
experience. We’ve learnt new design processes and how it’s done in
the industry. It’s been great to see a smaller version of our idea that will
be going into the College and we’re very pleased with what we’ve seen
today.”
Kelvin Murray, Director at Character Joinery, said: “The pupils have done
their own thing on an existing concept. To take something that works and
put your own take on it is fantastic. After today’s discussions we’re going
to take it to the next stage. The first design is never the finished product
and I think they’ve noticed that. I’m sure the team will now go away and
think about other ideas. It’s going to evolve again; which is what design is
all about.”
issue ten
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KESS Science Prize
Former Stewarton Academy pupil, Calum Sharp has
scooped not one but two top prizes in recognition of his
achievements in the field of physics.
Calum has been recognised by Kilmarnock Engineering and Science
Society (KESS) with an Advanced Higher Physics award at a special
ceremony held at Ayrshire College.
Although Calum was a Stewarton pupil, he studied for his advanced
higher at St Joseph’s Academy under the tutorship of UK award
winning physics teacher, Colin Barbour.
He achieved 94% in his exam, making him the top advanced higher
physics student in Scotland and is now studying Mechanical Engineering
at Strathclyde University.
In addition to the KESS award, Calum visited the Scottish parliament in
Edinburgh to receive the Higgs Prize for Physics.
The Higgs Prize was established in recognition of the impact Nobel
Physics Prize winner Professor Higgs’ work has had on modern day
physics and to inspire Scotland’s best young physicists.
As part of the Higgs Prize, Calum will visit the internationally renowned
CERN research facility in Switzerland. He will take part in a summer
school and participate in a specially designed programme of events.
KESS President Suzanne Flynn said: “KESS is delighted to award our
first Advanced Higher Physics prize to Calum and very proud that he
has won the national prize.”
Councillor Stephanie Primrose, Cabinet Member for Skills and Learning
said: “Calum’s achievements to date have been exceptional. To be
named as the top advanced higher physics student in Scotland is a
reflection of his own commitment to his studies but also to Colin
Barbour’s dedication to his students.
“We are all incredibly proud of Calum; he has a very bright future
ahead of him.”
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Interaction 3
Enterprising Education
Interaction 3 launched last October with young people from
all nine secondary schools and Park School gathering at St
Joseph’s Academy to hear the exciting new design brief.
Interaction, which is an enterprise education challenge, is delivered in
partnership with leading architectural practice Keppie Design.
Last year Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of the Council committed
to continuing with Interaction. At the launch he announced funding of
£100,000 to allow the young people to continue to benefit from this
practical learning initiative.
Councillor Reid said: “As part of our schools business and enterprise
programme, Interaction has a key role to play. It teaches creative, teamorientated skills with real outcomes. Our young people work closely
with Business Enterprise partners and learn skills essential to their future
success in the workplace.
“I had the great job of announcing that each team has been pledged
£10,000 to develop a design solution based on a brief created by David
Ross from Keppie Design. As part of Interaction 3, the young people will
work with design mentors and cost consultants, from within the Council,
to help keep their project on track and get the best value for the budget
available. For the first time, this year the young people will be project
managing and managing the finances for the project.”
Under the working title ‘Shed for the Head’ – the young people have
been challenged to design a contemporary shed which can be either
internal or external.
David Ross said: “It’s an honour for Keppie to be able to collaborate
with East Ayrshire Council in such a unique and innovative way.
INTERACTION gives us the opportunity to talk to, and involve, pupils in
looking creatively and imaginatively at the built environment around them.
In this year’s challenge, that environment will be their own school or local
community.”
At the launch event the teams took part in a design challenge and speed
networking session. This allowed the young people to exchange creative
ideas and speak to mentors about how to get their project off the ground.
At the end of the session Grange Academy’s team was named winner of
the Launch Workshop exercise for their concept and design.
The Brief
INTERACTION 3 challenges East Ayrshire pupils to
design a contemporary ‘Shed’ as an internal or external
structure in which positive, forward-thinking ideas about
the school or its local community can be considered
and discussed. The ‘Shed for the Head’ should illustrate
ideas about the school’s identity. The space should be
inclusive and accessible to all and be able to be built for
a budget of no more than £10,000.
BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
issue ten
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7
Grange Maths on Tour
Grange Academy’s Maths Department hit the road at the end of last year with maths outings aimed at helping pupils
unleash the power of maths.
The tour began in Livingston where an S2 class visited Sky Academy’s
Skills Studio. The Skills Studio provides a learning experience linked
to Curriculum for Excellence for young people, helping to build
communication, creativity and team building skills.
The young people created their own TV report on their class topic,
‘Money: trends in teenage spending’, using Sky’s state-of-the-art
technology, including broadcast quality cameras, green screens and touch
screen edit tables.
Pupils loved the studio experience and left with a pen-drive wrist
band loaded with their finished video: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=kuKzZ8r6hWY
At the other end of the maths spectrum - four Advanced Higher
pupils Andrew McCluskie, Izzy Faure, Karolina Myszkowskaz and Jack
McConnell attended Strathclyde University, with their teachers, for the
London Mathematical Society popular lectures.
Professor Ruth King gave a lecture on the Statistics of Estimation,
answering questions like “How could we use a few small pieces of data
to accurately estimate the number of drug users in Scotland?”. While Dr
Colva Roney-Dougal gave a lecture on the Mathematics of Connections,
including a fascinating tangent into Bacon Numbers.
And in October, the school’s Advanced Higher Maths students enjoyed
their first every Halloween study day. There were some seriously geeky
costumes including a lumberjack with carefully labelled axes, a natural
‘logarhythm’, two ‘vamPires’, a ruler and even a Mr Smith, the school’s
resident maths geek.
Four hours of Advanced Higher Maths revision was rounded off with a
trip to Newmilns ski slope for some fun on the slopes.
Maths camp will fire up pupils for exams
Following the success of last year’s inaugural Grange Maths camp,
the Maths Department are taking a group of enthusiastic young
mathematicians for a Higher and Advanced Higher revision weekend.
More than 70 pupils signed up for this year’s camp which will be held in
March at the Craigmore Centre, Aberfoyle.
In addition to 15 hours of concentrated maths revision, the young people
will be taking part in outdoor activities and fun maths quizzes.
Mr Smith said: “Last year was so much fun, lasting memories were made
and having analysed the exam statistics it’s clear that Maths Camp had a
significant impact on attainment. This March will be another phenomenal
experience for all Grange Maths geeks!”
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BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
#LoudounAcademyleadstheway
Loudoun Academy is leading the way, becoming the first school in Scotland to deliver a Social Media Marketing for Business
qualification.
The level 6 SQA customised qualification is highly innovative.
Teachers have been working in partnership with local companies Giglets,
who are delivering the course using an online learning platform called the
Learning Cloud, and Early Bird Media who have developed the innovative
learning content.
During the course, pupils learn how to use social media for marketing
purposes. They will create and manage a social media site; learn about
business goals and the importance of effective market research; design
and run a social media campaign and measure the benefits and shortfalls
of social media marketing.
The course includes a work placement which will help the young people
to refine and hone the skills they have learned in the classroom.
The young people are using Ipad technology to support their journey
through learning and help them prepare for the world of work.
Not all superheroes have capes
Not all superheroes have capes – that was the message from young people at
East Ayrshire’s nineteenth annual youth conference held at Dumfries House.
Held during Youth Work Week, the year’s conference was split into two distinct age groups, from
Primary 7 through to S2 and from third year upwards at secondary school.
The focus for the day was mental health and Vibrant Communities joined forces with NHS
Ayrshire and Arran: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and SEEME Scotland to deliver
themed workshops for the young people.
Through the workshops the young people discussed issues pertinent to them and developed the slogan
‘not all superheroes have capes’, to raise awareness of the hidden side of mental health problems.
Councillor Stephanie Primrose, Cabinet Member for Skills and Learning, who was joined at the event
by Provost Jim Todd, said: “The young people really enjoyed this year’s youth conference. It gave
almost 150 young people a positive platform to talk in a safe setting about issues that affect them.
“They talked openly about mental health issues and the importance of young people having a
voice. Their views were very mature and it was heartening to see that they understood that
mental health is often not visible or obvious to others.
“I thought a real highlight of the event was hearing from our inspirational young people, including
the Council’s Sports Mentors, Modern Apprentices and also students from Ayrshire College.
They spoke from the heart about their own experiences and this had a positve impact on the
gathered audience.”
The event was organised by Vibrant Communities and was part-funded by CashBack for
Communities: Youth Work Fund. Workshops were supported by Ayrshire College, Yipworld,
Barnardos (East Ayrshire) and the Zone, Dalmellington.
BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
issue ten
9
UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP
launches in cumnock
Me2U – a unique partnership project led by Cumnock
Academy is changing the lives of local people.
“This project is very simple in its premise – bring volunteers into the
school for the benefit of all but it has expanded already. All the partners
can see the benefit of such a scheme.”
The project was the brainchild of Teraessa Lopez, Principal Teacher of Art
and Design. She saw an opportunity to bring volunteers into the school to Heather Ralston, Engagement Officer and Community Tutor from
Ayrshire College, is working with participants on Personal Development,
the mutual benefit of both the school and the community.
Customer Care and Problem Solving at the Boswell Centre in Auchinleck.
Ms Lopez started a working group bringing Job Centre Plus and Vibrant
These units will allow learners to improve their self-reliance and
Communities round the table to see if this was possible. Job Centre Plus
confidence, develop skills, knowledge and understanding of customer
saw this as a fantastic opportunity to engage with people from the local
care and use skills to solve problems in personal, workplace, social and
community who are known to the Job Centre.
educational situations.
Information sessions were held about the Me2U project and eleven
Audrey McClements, Employability and Engagement Manager said: “This
individuals applied to take part attracted by the opportunity to increase
exciting new pilot provides the volunteers with skills and qualifications that
their confidence and gather vital work experience within the school.
will help them when pursuing future career opportunities. The mentors
Angus McVake, Head Teacher said: “This project started small, with an
will also receive accredited recognition for their contribution. The
idea of attracting volunteers into the school. But the project has grown
enthusiasm and passion shown by all partners to help make this a success
way beyond my expectations. Eleven people signed up to the project;
has been outstanding.
many are parents or grandparents of young people from the school. We
“It is hoped that this innovative approach to supporting the unemployed
were actually only looking for eight participants but the enthusiasm and
can be rolled out across Ayrshire.”
commitment shown by our team of volunteers have been exceptional
Susan Ward, Ayrshire Manager for JobcentrePlus said: “Cumnock
and we just had to accept all 11!”
Jobcentre is delighted to be part of the Me2U Programme. It is an exciting
The Me2U team have been provided with uniforms and will be working
opportunity for our claimants to receive vital jobskills training that will help
closely with mentors during school time.
them gain employment in the future.”
Councillor Stephanie Primrose, Cabinet Member for Skills and Learning
officially launched Me2U. She said: “From December until March the team Me2U is led by Cumnock Academy and is supported, in particular,
by Lorraine Dick and Joan McDade, East Ayrshire Council Vibrant
will be working within the school two days each week and will also be
Communities, Kaye Hannah from Job Centre Plus and Audrey
working towards achieving four SVQ modules through Ayrshire College.
McClements and Thomas Marner, Ayrshire College.
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BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
Science fun STEMS from
weeklong activities
Pupils from Annanhill Primary were experimenting, measuring and thoroughly enjoying themselves
during a week of Science, Technology, Engineering
and Maths events.
Supported by parents; Babcock International, the UK’s leading engineering
support services company and Primary Engineer; the children were put
through their paces learning about STEM in the real world.
Fun activities like churning butter, popping popcorn and making delicious
ice cream helped the children to understand the importance of STEM in
everyday life and made them think scientifically about the world around them.
Parents visited the school during the week to talk to P6 pupils about their
jobs within STEM industries. This helped the children to consider STEM
careers and inspire then to become Scotland’s engineers of the future.
A real highlight of the week was a visit by two of Babcock’s engineers,
Graduate Mechanical Engineer Laura McLean and Renewable Energy
Project Engineer Ross Cottam. The two engineers guided P5 and P6
pupils through a ‘real life’ engineering challenge – Operation Flyover.
The challenge was to design and build a scale model of a zip line that
would help to get aid to a village cut-off by flooding, and the teams
accepted the challenge with gusto.
They even tested their final prototype, which was great fun but also
helped to develop some innovative and practical solutions to the
challenge that had been set for them.
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11
Ross and Laura said: “We love engineering and want to pass that
enthusiasm on and hopefully spark enough interest to encourage
Annanhill’s pupils to start thinking about a future in engineering. It’s
hugely satisfying working with the kids, knowing that you may just be
helping them to explore the possibilities of a rewarding career in one of
the STEM disciplines.”
John Howie, Managing Director for Babcock’s Naval Marine business,
was also on hand to talk about his own engineering background and the
company’s role in supporting the Royal Navy’s fleet of submarines and ships.
To make the whole event even more memorable the Babcock team
brought along a construction brick scale model of the Queen Elizabeth
aircraft carrier, which the company is involved in designing, building
and assembling.
John commented: “Having the opportunity to listen to the children
discussing different aspects of engineering and how it is present in their
everyday lives has been a real inspiration.
“As a nation we have an enviable record of engineering excellence;
the real challenge we face is to sustain and develop our capability and
capacity both now and into the future. I hope the week’s activities will
encourage the children to think a little bit more about the engineering
involved when they take a train, cross a bridge, have fun with video
games or play on a bike and perhaps spark an interest in engineering and
other STEM subjects.”
Dr Peter Hughes, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Primary Engineer,
led an assembly with the children on the final day of STEM week. He
played a variety of musical instruments for, and with, the children and
explained the role of engineering in making musical instruments.
Dr Hughes said: “Having the chance to talk with real engineers, who are
working in real engineering jobs, problem solving and engineering real world
solutions, is one of the best ways I know to make learning fun and engaging.
“We clearly must do more to encourage boys and girls to think about a
future in engineering. Bringing the concepts and theories involved in the
STEM subjects to life at events like this one is immensely important in
inspiring our next generation of engineers – especially when the children
are young and absorbing so much information that will ultimately shape
their future.”
Councillor Stephanie Primrose, Cabinet Member for Skills and Learning
said: “The STEM programme at Annanhill primary was impressive, with
fun activities carefully designed by the teaching staff to make the children
think about the world around them in a new way. The children were
challenged through successful interdisciplinary learning. Even the spelling
homework had a STEM focus with words like laboratory and experiment
featuring widely.
“The most impressive part of the week though was the partnership
working with parents, friends of Annanhill primary and representatives
from industry. Scotland has produced some of the greatest engineers
the world has ever seen and I think it is wonderful that we are inspiring a
new generation of engineers who will change our future for the better.
“Congratulations to everyone at
Annanhill for a successful STEM week!”
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BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
WATER, WATER
EVERYWHERE
S3 pupils from James Hamilton Academy were challenged to think differently about water and
sustainability after a visit from WaterAid Scotland.
Representatives from WaterAid Scotland, Laura Hunter and Donna
Davidson, visited the school to talk to pupils about the difficulties young
people of their age face every single day in developing countries. They
highlighted the problems of being unable to access fresh water and the
significant impact this has on health and education.
After their visit, S3 spent the rest of the week learning about water
related themes in all of their classes.
In Maths, pupils compared their own water usage with that of a child in
the developing world. They also worked out the distance young people
must travel to source water each day.
The English department taught pupils about the impact of flooding on
communities; PE focused on the importance of hydration and young
people designed, and marketed, their own sports drink. While in the
Music department, pupils wrote and performed a jingle for a water
advert.
WaterAid Scotland returned to James Hamilton at the end of the week
to find out what the pupils had learned.
Councillor Stephanie Primrose, Cabinet Member for Skills and Learning
said: “This was a fantastic interdisciplinary project for the S3 pupils at
James Hamilton. It made them think really hard about the availability
of water for young people of their age in developing countries. It also
helped them to understand the role each of their subjects has to play in
helping those in need.
“Every department really submerged themselves in this challenge but
Business Education and IT, emerged as the overall winners. The pupils
had examined the impact bottled water and soft drinks companies have
on the economy, society and the environment.”
WaterAid Scotland also named James Hamilton Academy as their Star
Supporters of the Week.
BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
issue ten
13
is on the horizon
15 Ayrshire schools will be battling it
out this April to be named Ayrshire
Company of the Year.
The competition, run by Young Enterprise
Scotland, takes place over the course of an
academic year.
The young people from the participating
schools form teams then create, finance,
launch and operate their own business.
The teams are supported by link teachers,
volunteer business advisors from the local
community and receive guidance from
specialists within their local authorities.
At the Ayrshire final, each team will have to
create a trade stand, make a presentation to
judges, prepare a detailed report on their
business and also be interviewed by a panel
of judges.
The winner of this heat will represent Ayrshire
at the Young Enterprise Scottish finals in June.
Horizon Pages from Kilmarnock Academy will be
representing East Ayrshire at the Ayrshire finals.
The team of sixth year pupils includes Jordan
Muir, Managing Director; Heather Taylor,
Product Director; Robyn McGhee, Marketing
Director and David Gibson, Finance Director.
Heather said: “Our business, Horizon Pages,
will create and sell advisory books to help
young people through tough transitional
aspects of life.
“Horizon Pages is run by four business
partners, each having major roles in the
business.
“Our main product, ‘How to Survive Secondary
School’ – is a short booklet which gives primary
school pupils helpful advice that will reduce the
stress of moving to secondary school.
“The booklet contains descriptions of subjects,
school wear advice, information on extracurricular activities, personal experiences and
many more tips to make life easier.
“It has a Bear Grylls Survival Guide theme
with jungle references throughout. It is written
simply, in plain English and is from a pupil
perspective, which makes it truly unique.
“A list of Frequently Asked Questions has
also been included for the pupils and their
guardians.
“We have all loved taking part in this
competition. Creating our own business has
provided us with several challenges which
we’ve all worked together to overcome.
“Although sometimes difficult, it has been
a positive experience which is rewarding
and great fun. We love the responsibility
and surprising people with our business
knowledge.”
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Schools
in
Loudoun
Academy
brief…
Interaction Project update
S3 Design and Manufacture pupils
have been hard at work generating
ideas to convert the old Support for
Learning base into a creative learning
and meeting space.
The space, which will be used as fully and
flexibly as possible, will cater for meetings, will
be a creative thinking space and a place for
idea generation and discussions.
Pupils are liaising with local businesses and
hope to work with Ayrshire College on part
of the construction enabling pupils, or college
students, to take part in a live project. This will
help develop a range of skills for use in the
world of work.
Ayrshire young
entrepreneur club
Developing the Young Workforce: Business Lunch
Business leaders visited the school recently for a working lunch.
Lively discussions took place on the best way the school could continue to shape and support
young people into the workplace. The business leaders were treated to a delicious lunch prepared
by senior Hospitality students.
The school has partnerships with the following businesses:
Buzzworks Holdings, Giglets Ltd, Sun Newspapers Ltd, Early Bird Social Media, QTS and QTS
Training, VG Energy, Tesco, Saxen Furniture, IBM, Morton Young and Borland, BT and Kilmarnock
Football Club.
These partnerships will be further developed fully in the coming months. Principal Teachers will
establish the best way of integrating business input into the curriculum and also into specialist events
like careers fairs and work experience.
Personal Development
Class - Artive
S6 pupils from Mrs Waughman’s
Personal Development class
established a not-for-profit word
art company.
The pupils made individually requisitioned
pieces of art using words and phrases supplied
by their customers. The pupils ran a stand
at Galston Christmas fete and at a variety of
parent evenings.
A remarkable £1500 was raised for their
chosen charities – MND Scotland, Alzheimers
UK and Beautiful Inside.
A group of ten third year Business
students attended the launch of the
Ayrshire Young Entrepreneurs Club,
at Sir Tom Hunter’s Hatchery in
Dundonald.
The students will gain valuable business
experience from young Ayrshire
entrepreneurs who have recently started their
own business.
They will take part in presentations and
seminars on a number of business areas such
as Marketing, Business Startup, Finance and
Human Resource Management.
The students will attend four afternoons from
February through to May and will have the
opportunity in June to present a business
idea of their own, in a situation similar to the
Dragon’s Den pitch from the successful TV
series.
If successful the Ayrshire Chamber of
Commerce will fund their business idea
which will require to be run within Loudoun
Academy and be sustainable once setup.
By the end of the four sessions the students
from Loudoun Academy will be armed with
skills and knowledge necessary to help them
consider starting their own business.
They will have heard from a number of local
young entrepreneurs sharing their experience
of their own businesses. Just as important the
students will have had the opportunity to mix
with other young budding entrepreneurs.
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James Hamilton Academy S3 Science Day
S3 pupils enjoyed an out of this world space lecture, by
Professor Hendry from Glasgow University and explored
the scientific world through mini workshops led by STEM
ambassadors, teachers and senior pupils.
Pupils particularly liked using medical equipment, like ECG monitors and
ultrasounds, which were provided by Medical Maverick. This gave them
an insight into different careers in the medical field.
Eco Committee success
James Hamilton Academy has achieved its third Green Flag
from Eco Schools Scotland.
Congratulations to Miss Murray and the Eco Committee on this prestigious
achievement.
A rigorous evaluation process is undertaken by an Eco Schools
representative to check the school’s progress in relation to sustainable
development issues.
The assessor was impressed with the range of initiatives being undertaken S4 pupils took part in a special STEM day in December.
to teach pupils responsibility in relation to caring for the environment and
First Edition, run by the Engineering Development Trust, delivered
the ‘wider world’.
workshops and challenges on a range of topics linked to Science,
Engineering, Technology and Maths. This was a very active learning event
and highlighted the relevance and importance of engineering as a career.
The importance of numeracy as a key skill underpinning the STEM
subjects was also emphasised.
At the end of the day, around 50% of the year group expressed an
interest in learning more about engineering and this will be followed up
through the delivery of other workshops which will provide information
on apprenticeships and higher education opportunities.
S4 STEM Day
Linn Products
In November the Advanced Higher Maths class enjoyed a visit
to Linn Products, a world leading Music System manufacturer.
Pupils got to see the real life application of mathematical modelling in
modern engineering.
The company are currently developing an innovative new technology
called ‘Space Optimisation’ in order to provide their customers with the
purest sound quality possible.
The pupils toured the research and manufacturing facilities and heard
a presentation by Pete Harrison, Acoustics Engineer and Jim Liddell,
Software Developer who described the maths used to create a three
dimensional model of the sound waves and the computer programming
used to apply this technology to the speakers.
They were then treated to a music demonstration allowing them to see
and hear the world class sound quality of a Linn System.
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BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
BUSINESSENTERPRISEBULLETIN
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