Island Legacy Helps Pupils Develop Skills

An event to help young people access experiential careers learning has recently been held in Orkney.
 
At the end of last term, second year pupils at Kirkwall Grammar School took part in ‘Island Legacy’, a choose your own adventure game, where pupils were stranded on a virtual island and, working in teams, had to try and escape, or remain, survive and thrive.
 
Island Legacy is a partnership initiative between Kirkwall Grammar School, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Orkney and Skills Development Scotland (SDS).  It was developed in 2025 as part of a Skills Challenge Pilot for SDS, as a way to offer experiential careers learning to pupils which is practical, work-related and skills focused.

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‘Island Legacy’ was delivered over two days in the Pickaquoy Centre, with half the year group coming on each day.  Pupils were split into ten teams and competed against one another to gain the most points, aiming to be crowned the winner.
 
Alongside the game, pupils took part in six experiences which helped them to develop transferrable skills and explore a variety of careers.  Each experience had a competitive element and the points gained could be used to buy resources and help their progress in the game.
 
The experiences pupils took part in were delivered by the Royal Mail, BAM Nuttall, Siemens, the school’s Duke of Edinburgh lead and, Skills Development Scotland.
 
The experiences delivered included a construction challenge to teach pupils how to solve problems and minimise errors while undertaking a project; a STEM activity to organise the energy technology required to run a farm, keeping running costs within budget; an activity to safely land a drone on the island, identifying a suitable landing spot, communicating with the drone and building a basic signal using an LED circuit and, a shelter building activity which had to protect teams from the elements.  Pupils also took part in a scavenger hunt on the journey from school to the Pickaquoy Centre, which helped the teams to build their team-building, problem solving and communication skills.
 
To help them with their career management skills, Careers Advisers from SDS ran the sixth experience, which used games of Snakes and Ladders and giant Jenga to help the pupils think about their career aspirations and the skills the different experiences they undertook during the event had helped them to develop.
 
The school’s involvement was led by the Design and Technology Department, with teachers Stuart Woodrow and Rebecca Reid involved in the pilot project last year, and developing the game.
 
Stuart Woodrow, Principal Teacher of Design and Technology, explains:  “Rebecca and I both really enjoyed our involvement with the pilot project last year, and were keen to continue running Island Legacy, making this an annual activity in the school calendar.  This year, we have been able to build on the successful pilot, working with DYW Orkney to offer a range of engaging activities which the pupils took part in enthusiastically.  We are really pleased with how the pupils worked together, exhibiting the transferrable skills they will need as they move through school and beyond.”
 
DYW Orkney School Co-ordinator for Kirkwall Grammar School, Leah Rendall, said:  “It has been fantastic to work with Kirkwall Grammar School to offer Island Legacy for a second year.  All of the employers and partners we worked with took part enthusiastically and developed engaging activities that the pupils enjoyed taking part in, and we’re really grateful to them for their input.
 
“The whole event was a fantastic opportunity for pupils to develop transferrable skills and explore careers in a fun way, and we hope it helps them as they progress through their education journey.”