Hello, and welcome to this section of the website that will focus on all that Drummond and its partners does to support our pupils reach a positive and sustained destination beyond their time at DCHS.
First up, let’s meet the team :
Our Skills Development Scotland (SDS) careers adviser is Helen Irons. Helen has fourteen years of experience as a careers professional and is committed to a person-centred, tailored approach – empowering pupils to approach their course and career decision making with confidence and clarity.
Our careers adviser works closely with the Support for Pupil Leaders throughout the year to identify young people who require 121 careers support. This support may involve:
- A life review – reflecting on the different facets of a young person’s life.
- Developing Career Management Skills (CMS) – knowledge of self, strengths, horizons and networks.
- Career path navigation and accountability – setting achievable goals and creating Career Development Plans to track progress and maintain motivation
- Crafting tailored CVs, covering letters and interview coaching.
Helen delivers a range of career education classes across the school around CMS and research resources and is on hand to consult with parents/carers at parent evenings or via email helen.irons@sds.co.uk
Helen also provides a post-school careers service for DCHS – supporting pupils who may experience difficulties in finding or sustaining opportunities once they have left school.
Jack Monaghan from MCR Pathways (MCR Pathways – Nationwide Mentoring Programme) states –
The Young Talent Programme helps students unlock their potential. I will pair you up with a volunteer mentor that’s been hand-picked by me to be the best match for you, based on your shared hobbies, career interests, and life experiences.
Meeting your mentor once a week in school, during a class you choose to miss, you can utalise that hour in any way you see best, playing games, instruments or sports together, going for a walk around school, or just having a chat about anything you want.
Your mentor will help you realise your goals and skills, and will always be in your corner, supporting you in pursuing whatever path you wish to follow after school.
Then links to relevant websites / services linked to positive destinations
Here is a selection of very useful links to websites we either use regularly with pupils at certain times of the year OR just contain useful information to support our pupils and their families.
My World of Work My World of Work | My World of Work This website is not just for pupils but it has up to date information on careers, making the right choices and has a great range of tools to help pupils know themselves better. It also has a CV builder. The website is live but had a major update at the start of June 2024. If pupils (or parents / guardians) already have an account you just need to reset your password. If you don’t have an account, there is a link on the homepage and is very easy to set up. We strongly recommend every pupil has an account.
UCAS – the main tool for pupils (mainly S6) to make applications for university. UCAS | At the heart of connecting people to higher education We also use this website with pupils to aid them during subject choicing as it will state what subjects universities are looking for connected to certain courses. Regardless of S5/S6 pupils knowing their future plans, we recommend all sign up to the UCAS hub due to the information pupils can then access.
The deadline for university applications vary on what is being applied for.
16th October 2024 6pm – the deadline for any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry.
31st January 2025 6pm – for the majority of all other courses.
LEAPS – this stands for Lothian Equal Access Programme for Schools. They have been a very supportive partner of Drummond.
LEAPS encourage our pupils, especially those who maybe haven’t had family attend university, to consider a university path. LEAPS bring real university students into school to meet S4 pupils and our S5 and S6 pupils can access 1:1 interviews that can aid pupil planning and focus.
Open Days – universities and colleges are advertising their open days where pupils (& families) can visit and get more information to aid future choices. Many establishments offer more than one and more and more are on Saturdays due to school commitments. Most open days you have to book / sign up for but check relevant websites.
Generic search for open days : Search | Open days and events | UCAS
Reach Edinburgh is a Widening Participation programme to support eligible S4 to S6 students at state secondary schools in the south-east of Scotland who wish to study law, medicine or veterinary medicine. It offers events and activities to help you better understand your chosen subject and prepares you for the application process. Reach Edinburgh | The University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh College – many of our senior pupils do a School-College partnership (SCP) class at one of the campuses belonging to Edinburgh College. More info on these : How to Apply for Schools College Partnership (SCP) and Foundation Apprenticeship (FA) courses | Edinburgh College
Further, Edinburgh College will offer full-time January courses for pupils to apply to late in 2024, and, courses that start in August 2025 will probably be open to application at the end of January 2025.
YASS – Young Applicants in School Scheme. Young Applicants in Schools Scheme | Open University in Scotland This is offered to our S6 and we have a few pupils undertaking this during 24-25. It is designed to bridge the gap between school and university, college or employment and helps motivated students stand out from the crowd. It encourages independent learning and builds confidence. Taking part in YASS develops key skills like time management and using an online study environment.
Career Ready – This is offered in many authorities across Scotland and Drummond has been linked to this initiative almost since it began. It is a 2 year program offered to usually 6 S5 pupils who are planning to do S6 as well. This is not a subject, it is an extra for the pupils involved and they apply to be part of this. We do believe this is best for pupils who need that extra direction and support with deciding on future plans. Successful pupils are linked to a mentor from the world of work and are offered 4 weeks of a paid internship at the mentor’s place of work (usually last week of June & first 3 weeks of the Summer break). Pupils also attend 6 master classes during their time with Career Ready. These have themes such as networking or internships. Career Ready – National Social Mobility Charity
The Edinburgh Guarantee – this is a valuable resource for our senior pupils and advertises current apprenticeships, jobs and training in the Edinburgh / Lothians area. It updates every week and we encourage pupils to get into the habit of checking the opportunities board every week. Many pupils and families may not have considered an apprenticeship but this website has advertised some amazing opportunities; sometimes quite unique. Home – Edinburgh Guarantee
SAAS – Student Awards Agency Scotland.
These are the people who provide assessment, funding and support to full-time and part-time Scottish students in higher education
They also do online tutorials / presentations about student funding : https://www.www.saas.gov.uk/events/fundingawareness
Apprenticeships.Scot – an all round great live website advertising all current apprenticeships.
The JET Academy will provide pupils with opportunities to access vocational training, develop skills for the workplace and gain a qualification. JET is ideal for young people working towards a vocational route on leaving school. There are 3 different parts to the programme.
1. JET Class: This is in school for one period per week where pupils will work towards a Level 4/5 Employability Award or NPA Level 4/5 Enterprise and Employability Award. Class size is limited to 12 – this is to ensure that we have enough offers for all young people.
2. Training: Edinburgh College and other partners offer the opportunity to prepare for the workplace. Every Friday from September to December pupils may attend a Training Pathway and learn about what employers are looking for and the tasks undertaken while on placement.
3. Placement: Placements will run between September and April (or January to April for those on a pathway), and take place every Friday, pupils will be expected to travel to their placement independently and attend for a full day.
Should you have any queries or would like to know more about JET, please contact Christine Allan on 07749 004 778 or christine.allan@edinburgh.gov.uk
Drummond Community High School 