‘Every young person gets chance to flourish’

WHEN schools had to close, teachers at Alva Academy vowed to get pupils back to where they had been before lockdown.

It’s one of the reasons the Clackmannanshire school won the Making a Difference (Secondary) Award – as well as picking up Teacher of the Year.

Improving outcomes manager Catriona Scott said: “We made a commitment in June 2020 that we would do everything in our power to ensure our young people had the opportunity to have fun and be with friends, creating memories that they would cherish forever.

“And we made a commitment that every young person would have the chance to fulfil their remarkable potential and flourish.”

When they re-opened, the school strengthened an extracurricular programme that includes a gaming club, a girls’ football team, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

The school sought out partners in the community to give their pupils more opportunities for fun and to help them find new interests and activities.

Catriona added: “With the help of our young people and partners we have devised an extra-curricular programme that we feel is second to none. We are the first state school in Scotland to have an Esports Team that is competing on a national stage. Our other activities include Warhammer, knitting, girls’ and boys’ football and rugby, and debating and drama clubs. Whatever our young people asked for we put on. Our clubs and activities are thriving.”

The school also set up Classrooms to Care Homes with young people sharing concerts virtually with more than 300 care homes across the UK during lockdown and beyond.

Pupils also raised £51,000 this year for Macmillan Cancer support, with more than £450,000 raised over the last 20 years.

Currently there are more than 200 young people completing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, including 28 Gold candidates.

The school’s award-winning Parkinson Choir has pupils singing alongside local Parkinson’s sufferers and their carers and has raised more than £1000.

Head teacher Scott McEwan said: “We are delighted for this recognition of the hard work and dedication of our faculty and the support of the lovely people of Alva – and most of all for the energy, drive, imagination and complete lack of cynicism of our young people. If we give them an opportunity, they jump all over it. They are a credit to themselves, their families and the school.”