Celebrate
This week, young people all over the city are opening and reacting to their SQA results. This nerve-racking time can be especially tough for young people who may lack support and encouragement at home.
Young people should be proud of their hard work. But they also need to know that these results don’t determine their self worth. This week’s blog is all about SQA and a reminder that while exams are important, everyone’s journey is unique and success is different for everyone.
SQA Results Party
We were honoured to partner with SQA and Who Cares? Scotland who hosted a party at Saint Luke’s & The Winged Ox to celebrate our young people receiving their SQA results! Thank you SQA for pulling together such a fab event!
Emceed by John Loughton, CEO of Dare2Lead, the day featured Jayde O’Connor, representing Who Cares? Scotland, who shared her experience as a young person in care. Despite her tumultuous home life and recent health scares, she’s remained resilient and become an educational advocate for young people in similar circumstances.
During her speech, Jayde said, “I didn’t give up, I KNEW I deserved an education. I’m not afraid of who I am, not afraid of my stories and now not afraid of my scars.”
Next, MCR Pathways’ Elizabeth Anne Collier was invited to speak about the programme and how it’s transformed the lives of care-experienced young people across the city.
“In 2014, before MCR had expanded across the city, only 48% of care-experienced young people progressed after school to university, college or full-time employment. We just released our results for this year and an amazing 92% of our mentored young people reached a positive destination.”After the talks, it was onto the day’s main event: the awarding of the SQA results for all the wonderful young people in the room. David Middleton, SQA Chair, and John Swinney, MSP Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, handed out the awards and celebrated the young people and the work of MCR Pathways and Who Cares? Scotland.
John Swinney, “I know from experience the transformational impact of MCR Pathways and its affect on care-experienced young people.”
Congrats to all of our young people on their hard work! But remember – you are more than your exam marks.
In Your Shoes
At our national conference back in April, we asked our delegates to put themselves in the shoes of young people and remember the stresses, pulls and demands placed on young shoulders. We asked delegates to write words of encouragement for young people to remember about the present and the future.
Our delegates want them to know that they are all talented. That their best is enough and ‘they are enough’.
So congratulations to all our young people who completed their exams this year. You surpassed an important milestone. Here are just a handful of the words of encouragement written by our delegates and mentors.
#GiveAnHour
As the school year comes to a close, many of our young people are moving onto positive destinations. At the same time, new young people will be entering S3 and hoping for a mentor. These new young people have so much potential and they need your help to realise it. They are starting a new school journey – can you help be their guide? Please get involved and become a mentor. Share with a friend, family member of colleague who you think would be great and help us reach another 750 young people hoping for a mentor’s support.
