The University of Aberdeen has joined forces with Aberdeenshire based company Score Group in order to support Peterhead Academy pupils to achieve the Mathematics qualifications they need for post school career progression.
As part of the initiative, 10 pupils from the school will receive funding from Score and the University in order to undertake the Access Maths online course via the University, with the option of support from a University of Aberdeen Maths tutor for those who require further assistance.
The pupils began the course last month and have up to 12 months to complete it.
Jane Melhuish from the University of Aberdeen Online team said: “Score Group support a significant amount of school leavers through Engineering Apprenticeships, and the organisation and its management team are passionate about supporting people development in the region and invest a lot of time and resource into supporting the pupils of Peterhead Academy and Fraserburgh Academy. This ethos goes hand in hand with the University’s commitment to widening access to Higher Education and so coming together for a new initiative was an obvious progression.
“It was identified in our initial meetings that a significant challenge for progression to apprenticeships, and progression generally for many pupil’s post-secondary education across the region, is Maths at Nat 5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels.
“Steven Wilson from Score and I got together with the Principal Teaching of Mathematics at Peterhead, Amandine Orecchioni, to look at the structure of Access Maths Level 5/6 courses to see if we could offer an opportunity for a select number of pupils to gain key skills through our online learning course, which would help create a pathway for future opportunities.
“Amandine agreed that the course content was suitable, and that the online learning mode would help pupils study maths along with their other subjects. This is a really exciting – and important project which we hope will be hugely beneficial to the pupils involved.
“The University of Aberdeen Online team is always keen to work with businesses looking to invest in STEM skills, and these courses really do provide a great way to tackle skills shortages whilst supporting diverse learning needs and individual learning journeys.”
Steven Wilson, Score’s Global Apprenticeship Manager, said “At Score we know that some young people struggle to engage and grasp mathematics at school, we work closely with schools including Peterhead Academy to provide opportunities and motivate pupils to engage with maths. This pilot with Peterhead Academy, Aberdeen University and Score is part of a range of measures needed to help encourage higher levels of math attainment.
“Score require pupils leaving school to be well prepared for the apprenticeships we have on offer and many of the apprenticeship routes require a good math level.
“We are pleased to be able to offer free access to these Level 5 Maths programmes which have been developed by the university and supported in school with access to IT infrastructure and a timetabled slot. I am very keen to see how these pupils progress.”
Gerry McCluskey, Head Teacher Peterhead Academy, said: “When our learning partners at Score, in association with University of Aberdeen, approached us with this opportunity we jumped at the chance to facilitate the Access Maths course for a group of our senior pupils who require to achieve a level five qualification linked to Maths to allow them to access the next step in their pathway towards a positive post-school destination they value and will sustain. We are very grateful to Score and University of Aberdeen for sponsoring this programme and providing our young people with an alternative way to achieve and be successful academically with their Maths, whilst maintaining a full timetable of traditional senior phase SQA courses in other subjects in school.”
Amandine Orecchioni, Principal Teacher Faculty of Maths at Peterhead Academy added: "This partnership provides a fantastic opportunity for some of our pupils to achieve a qualification at level 5, that they might not have achieved in school otherwise. This in turn will open up more pathways for them to reach a positive destination after school."