Ballycastle students get clued up on careers

These were designed to help them develop important work-life skills and be more informed about the choices ahead of them.

Y12 and Y13 swapped their normal PE lesson for a taste of life in the Navy when they spent an afternoon with the Royal Marines. The pupils enjoyed a range of team building games and exercises and also got to complete a mini assault course. This allowed them to think, not just about a career in the armed forces, but also about the skills needed to work well as part of a group in any work environment.

Y10 and Y11 also had a brush with military life – this time in the form of a STEM Awareness workshop with members of the RAF. STEM is the umbrella term for Science, Engineering, Technology and Maths – students are encouraged to view these subjects as routes into a range of careers in key areas of the Northern Ireland economy. The pupils had the opportunity to participate in a range of activities demonstrating how science, technology and maths skills would be used in real life scenarios in the RAF. As the pictures show, the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the hands on approach and learned a lot in the course of the afternoon.

Twenty-five Y10 pupils were selected to participate in the Causeway Enterprise Show at Kelly’s in Portrush, where they competed against local schools to win an impressive total of three awards.

They enjoyed a Ready, Steady Cook style demonstration before embarking on their first task which was to design and market an application for the iPhone. A group of Ballycastle girls, consisting of Courtney Parke, Ashleigh Falconer, Laura Todd, Taylor Jones, Rebecca Whyte and Zoe McAleese, were awarded the top prize for their design.

The next activity, entitled “Advantage”, required pupils to come up with a concept for a new product based on the Mars brand. The Ballycastle girls were, once again, victorious coming up with “Marzitan”, a fake tanning product.

The penultimate task allowed the Ballycastle boys to shine as they achieved first place for their teamwork and logistical skills. The team consisting of Gavin McConaghy, Craig Brewster, Warren Walker, Graeme Christie, Reece Torrens and Jack McGregor were all presented vouchers for the Jet centre.

The girls, who spoke about the day at assembly, said it was “a very educational day” and which helped them to “find out lots of helpful information about planning ahead and how to keep on the right track in life.”