Congratulations to students at EHS who were amongst the winners at the recent Borders College Schools Academies Awards Ceremony. Held at the end of March, students from across the Scottish Borders were recognised for their efforts and achievements on the College’s Academies courses.
The Academies gives students the opportunity to visit the college twice a week as part of their school timetable. It is an excellent example of partnership working between the schools and Borders College, which has allowed students to experience a whole range of courses not usually available in their own school.
Amongst EHS students, the Software Development course has been a huge hit with fifth and sixth years, a number of whom are going off to college or university to extend their studies. Congratulations to Ryan Farish for his award for best student from across the schools studying the Academy course. Ryan is a dedicated and hard working student with a real passion and flair for technology.
Another success is for Marc Heger, who was given the best student award for studying Construction Skills. Marc demonstrates superb employability skills as well as excellent craft skills in the trades of plumbing, joinery, brickwork, roofing and painting and decorating. Two other students recognised for their superb efforts and commitment were Kerri Wood, who earned the best student award for the Fashion and Textiles course and Andrew Smith for the Sports course. Congratulations and well done!
Fifth year student Samantha MacDonald is to be given special recognition. Nearly 200 school students are involved in the Academies programme and Samantha was awarded Best Student overall. She has studied Fashion and Textiles each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon and demonstrated her creativity and attention to detail in all her work. It is a tremendous achievement to be recognised for this special award and well deserved.
At the Awards ceremony, in front of a large audience of college staff, parents, students, school teachers and local councillors, Kerrie and Samantha made a speech to explain how much they had enjoyed their course and gave an insight into the benefits the Academies programme. It is no mean feat to stand up and speak to a lecture theatre full of guests and they are to be congratulated.
The achievements highlighted throughout this site are a fantastic way of demonstrating the skills and qualities that are much sought after by employers and by higher and further education institutions.
Some of these are noted below
Skills
Teamwork
Problem Solving
Talking
Listening
Negotiation
Using ICT effectively
Creativity
Written Communication
Numeracy
Literacy
Organisation
Quick Learner
Meeting Deadlines
Showing Initiative
Reflection
Research
Budgeting
Coaching
Decision Making
Leading/Managing others
Practical Skills
Time Management
Keyboarding
Specific talent (eg singing, playing tennis, drawing..)
Qualities
Confident
Resilient/Determined
Motivated
Assertive
Calm
Respectful
Integrity
Compassionate
Sense of Fairness and Justice
Commitment
Honest
Responsible
Caring/Kind
Cooperative
Humourous
Enthusiastic
Friendly
Competitive
Meticulous/Precise
Conscientious
Reflective/Thoughtful
Punctual
Encouraging
Flexible/Adaptable
EXPERIENCING THE WORLD OF WORK
Just before the October holidays, the fourth year students experienced what it is really like in the world of work. What better way to find out about careers than to actually experience them for yourself. Here are some of the students describing their experience. For my work experience, I went to the 110 George Street offices of Audit Scotland. My main task was MESH Mining, which involved looking through key employee's HR files and picking out key information (In this case, it was to check whether they had qualifications in accountancy, economics, etc). I was also involved in a couple of meetings within the HR team, and was sent to two conferences organised by CIPD Scotland. I found that the morale of the HR team was extremely positive and they were great people to work with for a week. The experience overall helped me to see what it was like in a proper workplace. Charlie
For work experience I went to the Burts Hotel in Melrose. I had to help in all areas of the kitchen including food preparation. I feel that my Hospitality course at Earlston High School helped me prepare for working in the hotel’s busy kitchen. At Burts, I gained lots of different skills and I also met different types of chefs. I feel that the week’s work experience gave me a good taste of what it will be like in a kitchen. This was a good as I want to be a chef when I am older and move into the job industry. Dylan
For my work experience I went to Clovenfords Primary School. I got the opportunity to help out in all the classrooms for each year group. I helped anyone who was stuck with their work and completed any classroom jobs that needed done e.g. sharpening pencils and preparing work. I really enjoyed meeting new people and getting an experience of what it is like to work. I learned how to show leadership and take responsibility when doing activities with the pupils. Work experience has made me think about my future career a lot more and gave me a taste of a work environment. Bethany
I went to Morrison Construction in Galashiels, the company constructing the Galashiels Transport Interchange (GTI). When I was there I went out onto site a lot just to see what everyone was doing. One visit on site was with an engineer to get the distance of where the windows would be to the road. I liked going out onto site because it was always busy and one of the best parts was when they used a concrete pump and made the floor. I found out that safety is a hugely important aspect when constructing buildings. Although this placement didn't really help me to decide on my future career it was still very good! Calvin
For work experience I went to a florist in Kelso. The activities I participated in were creating floral arrangements, using the phone, delivering flowers and using the cash machine. The most enjoyable part of my work experience was learning how to make a variety of floral creations. Whilst on work experience I learnt that I have a creative skill. Work experience has helped me as I learnt lots of new skill which I will find useful in future. Amy
I did my work experience at the Scottish Parliament, with Richard Baker, a Labour Party MSP. During my time at the Parliament, my primary task was to do research into the issue of corporate homicide, for a Private Member’s Bill Richard was working on. I also went to a speech delivered by John Lamont about reforming child care in Scotland, as well as sitting in on the Stage 3 debate on the historic Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill. The experience was very enjoyable. It was great to have to experience of a real workplace. Ben
For my work experience I went to Heriot Watt University working in the Fashion and Textiles. Whilst I was there I helped the staff and got to use some of the equipment: the sewing machines, over lockers, knitting machines, laser cutter and got to print my own fabric designs. I really enjoyed working in the different departments, meeting the staff and I had an amazing experience and will definitely consider going there in the future. Charlotte
So, it’s pretty clear that every student valued their experience and we are grateful to all the employers for supporting our students to learn about the real world of work.