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NESCol Open Day – 3 December 2022

NESCol Open Day – 3 December 2022

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NESCOL OPEN DAY

Saturday 3 December, 10AM-2PM

 

We are opening the doors of our Aberdeen Altens, Aberdeen City, and Fraserburgh Campuses (where there will also be representatives from our Scottish Maritime Academy). Visitors will be able to explore our campuses, see our facilities, speak to curriculum teams and student support staff, and find out all they need to know about studying at NESCol.

 

We’ll also have representatives from our Part Time Learning team and our Schools team, and ambassadors from the University of Aberdeen and RGU on hand to discuss university progression pathways.

 

Registration for the event opens on Friday 11 November. Pupils can register on our website.

S5 Horizons – RGU Study skills, Exam preparation and Project Trust

S5 Horizons – RGU Study skills, Exam preparation and Project Trust

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On Tuesday 22 March, Robert Gordon University delivered a workshop to the S5s on note taking and revision skills. This included identifying what type of learning style, what learning methods to use to be an effective learner as well as exam preparation tips. They also covered how to manage your mental wellbeing; what affects our mental health, what can we change and how we can find support. The pupils comments were:

 

Really helpful and in depth, I learned what learning style works best for me

It was interesting and useful

Very interactive session, good because of personal examples used

Helpful and informative

 

Project Trust also delivered a presentation on taking a gap year and volunteering with project trust overseas. Pupil comments were:

 

Great to hear about someone’s actual experience rather than an overview

I think what project trust is doing is amazing and I can’t wait to participate this year.

Definitely considering taking a gap year with project trust inspiring and informative

The presentation made me seriously consider going on a gap year with project trust. It seems like good life experience

The presentation I found really inspiring as it made me realise that there is maybe a good option of what to do after school as I still don’t know what I want to do after I leave school.     

Senior Horizons- CV and Cover letter Session

Senior Horizons- CV and Cover letter Session

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On Tuesday 1st March our senior pupils in S5 and S6 who will be leaving Alford Academy in summer 2022, were invited to take part in a practical session lead by our career advisor, to help write a CV in preparation for their future pathway.

The turn out was very good and pupils followed a step by step process to create their personal CV’s and covering letters.

The session was lead by Jemma Kinnaird, our Skills Development Scotland Career advisor and Aimee Maitland, our Developing the Young Workforce school coordinator.

After the session, pupils were equipped with an up to date CV ready for distributing to potential employers.

Pupils said:

“This was extremely helpful and informative and now I have a CV that I can use straight away and update regularly when I need to”.

“Very helpful and now I can write a CV. This helped me develop my personal CV and made me think of aspects to add to my CV that I wouldn’t have considered”.

         

Scottish Apprenticeship Week S5/6

Scottish Apprenticeship Week S5/6

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Scottish Apprenticeship Week

Please see below if you are interested in apprenticeships within STEM subjects. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

 

Apprentice Panel

Suitable for: Secondary school learners

Tuesday 8 March, 11.00 – 12.00, Teams Live

Hosted by school learners who are part of the Young STEM Leader Programme, where you will have the opportunity to hear from four STEM Ambassadors currently undertaking apprenticeships.  The Apprentices come from Dounreay, GE Caledonian, Graham Construction and Rolls Royce.  This is a great chance to learn more about apprenticeships, what they involve and the opportunities that are available.

Register here: https://www.stemambassadors.scot/event-details/stem-ambassador-apprentice-panel-hosted-by-young-stem-leaders

S3 into S4 Course Choice form

S3 into S4 Course Choice form

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S3 pupils now have their S4 course choice forms for session 2020-2021.

Following feedback from parents who attended the course choice evening in December, the above information evening will be repeated at Alford Academy.

You are invited to a Parents’ Information Evening on Tuesday 11 February at 5:30pm in the Academy. During this evening, there will be presentations on the planned S4-S6 curriculum, local job market intelligence, employability skills, flexible career pathways in Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships and Work Placement Apprenticeships and one-day-a-week College courses in partnership with Nescol.

Information from North East Scotland College, The Robert Gordon University, Skills Development Scotland and SRUC will be given to highlight flexible routes into employment and to help you to support your child to get “on the right route to the right job, through the right course via the right information”.

Members of the Senior Leadership Team will attend and will be available for questions at the end of the evening. The Information Evening is likely to finish at 6:15pm.

This evening is open to all parents of S3, S4 and S5 pupils.

The course choice forms for S3, S5 and S6 pupils will be distributed to pupils very soon.

Alford Senior Phase S3 into S4 2020-21

 

Boccia Festival 2019

Boccia Festival 2019

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Alford Academy hosted a successful Boccia Festival on Wednesday morning in the Community Campus Theatre.  There were 8 teams representing several schools, including Dunecht & Alford primaries, Kemnay Academy, St Andrews School and 2 teams from Alford itself.  Boccia is a game of accuracy and muscle control, and there were some terrific examples of both on show yesterday.

The teams played each other in a round-robin format and all teams managed to secure a couple of victories throughout the morning.  There were some great examples of teamwork and sportsmanship from the Alford pupils, often assisting the other team with collecting the balls or giving them positive feedback after a particularly good shot.  It was great to see the pupils from all schools enjoying themselves and engaging in a fun and friendly sport.

Special thanks to Kerry Barlow for organising the event, and to the senior pupils who helped run it with such enthusiasm & support for the players – Mr McKay’s Prince’s Trust class and Miss Shearer’s Sport Development class.  We’re already looking forward to the next event in Spring.

Horizons – Future Pathways

Horizons – Future Pathways

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Alford Academy is passionate about trying to inspire and motivate youngsters, linking topical concepts to the world of work and career pathways. As part of our Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) agenda we are holding a “Horizons” fortnight at the academy between 30th September and 11th October. In order to enrich our courses and experiences offered to youngsters we aim to further develop partnerships with parents and businesses, to increase enthusiasm by highlighting the place our subjects have in the working world, promote curiosity and encourage more students to think about options available and possible career pathways.

I am writing to ask if any parents/carers would be willing to give up a small amount of their time to visit the academy during lunchtime (1:30pm – 1:55pm) to deliver a talk to pupils about their profession. The session would be short and very informal and will involve talking about your own pathway into your profession and what daily duties / entry qualification entail. This would be followed by an informal Question and Answer session, to open pupils’ minds to different jobs and inspire them to follow the correct pathway for them.

During our Horizons fortnight, it would be great to have a speaker from different sectors each lunchtime, to cover as many areas as possible. If you would be willing to come to our school and share your expertise and experience with our youngsters, we would be very grateful.

Please reply using the following email address, with your name, job title and sector and I will be in touch.

alford.aca@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

 

Thank you very much,

Stuart Cookson

DHT

SDS – Alford Academy Career Service

SDS – Alford Academy Career Service

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Careers Advice and employment support does not end when you leave school

Attention all Senior Pupils, Parents and School Leavers…..

  • Have you left school this summer or thinking about leaving ?
  • Are you looking for an Apprenticeship, Work or Training?
  • Do you want some help and support with job application forms, college applications, CV’s , Interview Skills or covering letters?
  • We have information about current vacancies and apprenticeships.

Come along to Alford Library on  Wednesday Afternoons between 1pm and 3pm.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Linda Johnston – Careers Adviser 

Telephone 0146 762 3623               

Mobile       07557 190081

Linda Johnston

Careers Adviser

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