Earlier this month, the Royal Navy visited two of our secondary schools to deliver their ‘Ready Steady Cook’ workshops and a Catering Services careers presentation.
 
At Stromness Academy they worked with the school’s Home Economics department, while at Kirkwall Grammar School they teamed up with the Home Economics department and the school’s Duke of Edinburgh team.
 
During the visit, pupils heard a presentation about careers across the Royal Navy and also got an insight into working on a submarine, with a virtual tour.
 
They then had the opportunity to cook a meal, with pupils at Stromness Academy making Chicken Kiev with fondant potatoes and pavlova, while the Kirkwall Grammar School pupils made burger and chips, followed by sticky toffee pudding.
 
There was a bit of friendly rivalry between pupils, but a fun time was had by everyone – and best of all they got to enjoy the meal they cooked.
 
Over the next few months, the Royal Navy are offering a series of virtual sessions looking a life in the Royal Navy.  These sessions will let you hear first hand from Sailors and Marines, speak to expert recruiters and get an introduction to careers with the navy.  For more information, visit here.

As part of the Activity Days held at Kirkwall Grammar School at the end of May, we teamed up with the Hospitality Department to put on the Great KGS Bake Off!

The day started with a cake decorating masterclass from Ingrid Groat, Hospitality Lecturer at UHI Orkney. She showed pupils how to make sugar paste monkeys and gave them tips on decorating cupcakes. The pupils then made their own cupcakes and were able to decorate them however they wanted to.
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In the afternoon, Ingrid returned with Callum Budge from Callum’s Cakes, Kerry Leask from Orkney Food and Drink and Rachel Scarth from DYW Orkney, who all unleashed their inner Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith to judge the cupcakes. The judges selected their top three based on decoration, before tasting a cupcake from each of the top three to decide who would be crowned Star Baker and win the coveted ‘Great KGS Bake Off’ wooden spoon.

They didn’t have an easy job with pupils coming up with some fantastic, creative ideas for their decoration which showcased their skills with piping, making sugar paste figures and attention to detail.

Pupils also had a chance to learn more about the Hospitality courses available at UHI Orkney and the career journeys that Ingrid, Callum and Kerry have all taken into their current jobs.

Thank you so much to the fantastic pupils who did a fab job decorating their cupcakes, and the judges for taking part.

Check out some photos from the day below.

Earlier this week, as part of the employability inputs we are currently delivering at Kirkwall Grammar School, we welcomed Sheetal Revis from the Hospitality Department at UHI Orkney.

This session was arranged to give pupils an insight into the range of careers available in the hospitality industry, highlight the transferrable skills that can be developed and some of the opportunities that working in this industry can offer.

Sheetal spoke about her own career journey from school in Orkney, to moving away to attend university then working for international hotel chain Hilton and setting up her own business. Working in hospitality has enabled her to travel and work all over the world, developing skills she has been able to take with her on her career journey.

Many of the pupils attending the session work in local hotels, restaurants and cafes, so they are already playing an important role in a sector that is important to our local economy.

Giving the pupils her top tips for skills to learn while working in hospitality, Sheetal advised them to learn how to: make good coffee; carry a tray of drinks and, talk to people.

Pupils took part in the discussion by speaking about the jobs they currently do in hospitality and explaining why they did or did not want to work in the industry when they left school. Those who didn’t want to work in the industry were asked the reasons why, and Sheetal did some myth busting about perceptions of working in hospitality.

This was a great session which helped pupils to see the opportunities working in hospitality could offer them.

We hosted a Lunch and Learn event earlier this week to help local employers learn how they can engage with their future workforce more easily.
 
Over 20 employers attended our event to hear how Founders4Schools and Marketplace can help them engage with school pupils, in a way that fits in with their business needs.