School wins coveted Future Skills award

These prestigious awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of local organisations and individuals, recognising their contributions to the region's economic growth and success.

The Future Skills category highlights organisations’ outstanding work in fostering skills development and preparing the workforce for the demands of tomorrow.

At HSD, the timetabling of exciting new interdisciplinary STEM Innovation and Business Enterprise courses, in addition to computer science for all, has embedded Future Skills into our S1 and S2 curriculum. As part of these new courses, we hope the proactive development of partnerships with local businesses to provide real world learning opportunities will further enrich, enhance, and ensure we future proof all our pupils’ learning.

Led by the School’s STEM Co-ordinator and Head of Chemistry, Dr Nicola Kiernan, this approach tasks S1 and S2 pupils with year-long, interdisciplinary, co-operative learning challenges – for example, to research and develop their own Mars Missions! This exciting project gives pupils a whole host of transferrable skills, including problem solving, creativity, analytical thinking, data handling, research, digital skills and marketing. 

Rector Lise Hudson said, “There are a number of colleagues across the school for whom this award highlights their hard work, innovative thinking and courage to try something new.

"Our F1 (S1) and F2 (S2) pupils, have engaged so enthusiastically in the various projects and initiatives which have been set up and the benefit they gain is abundantly clear to see.

"This award will allow us a platform to continue to develop and enhance these approaches and look out from HSD to see how we can build partnerships which allow ‘future skills’ to flourish even more.”

A huge well done and thank you to all of our staff who have been involved in the work which has led to the award!