Skilling students to reverse a “brain drain”
Event Overview
- Prize Category: Community Collaboration
- Format: Immersive performance
- Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Languages: Streamed live in English with automated captions in Arabic, English, French, Filipino, Hindi, Japanese, Malay, Portuguese, Serbian, and Spanish.
- Learn more about the Top Ten Shortlisted Schools in the Community Collaboration category on the World’s Best School Prizes webs
Watch on-demand
World Education Week 2022 is streaming across social media. We will embed a live stream on this page before the event begins. We are making the live stream available directly on this page alongside the Spf.io platform. Spf.io is one of our partner organisations, and their all-in-one multilingual translation and accessibility platform is embedded and linked below. You can access a range of accessibility features from the menu in the Spf.io player.
About the school
Dunoon Grammar School, a state secondary school in Dunoon, Scotland, is using its skill-based courses to turn around the fortunes of its predominantly rural local area, which has seen an exodus of young people lacking opportunities. To try and reverse this “brain drain,” Dunoon Grammar School evaluated the community’s needs and gaps in the workplace and it facilitated over 50 skill-based courses to empower students to work in a range of different professions. Courses are diverse, offering students the chance to learn more about travel and tourism, design, or maritime studies.
Dunoon Grammar School works hard to ensure students reach their destinations post-school and connects them to regular work placements to bolster their chances. The school also develops entrepreneurial skills in its young people, allowing them to establish their own local enterprises or to effectively contribute to regeneration projects. Working with Apps for Good – an educational charity that promotes coding skills – students have generated ideas and coded prototype apps, IoT and Machine Learning solutions to benefit society. When COP26 was held in Glasgow students conceived and coded apps to address the Climate Crisis.
The school has also offered learning experiences for children and parents to enjoy together in areas such as health and wellbeing, numeracy, literacy and digital skills. Its family liaison officer also supports families with applications for government benefits, helping to address the poverty-related attainment gap. The school won the JA Europe Entrepreneurial School Award and its community collaboration work has also been celebrated through a number of Early Day motions at the UK Parliament at Westminster and the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.
Join us to learn how we are facilitating over 50 skill-based courses to empower students to work in a range of different professions.
Speakers
Moderator: David Mitchell
David is a former pupil of Dunoon Grammar School, returning to take up the post of Head Teacher in 2013. He has since led the school to a number of national and international accolades, including the JA Europe Entrepreneurial School Award. His own children attend the school.