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Currie Community High School - our journey to silver

Currie Community High School is a comprehensive, non-denominational school in Southwest Edinburgh, writes John Schmidt, curriculum leader technologies, and Fraser McLachlan, depute head teacher.

We offer a wide range of subjects and qualification levels from Broad General Education (BGE) in S1-3 to the Senior Phase (S4-6). We also offer numerous extracurricular opportunities.

Designated as a Community High School in 1997, Currie shares its extensive facilities with the local community, a practice that will continue when we move to our new building in early 2025. As Scotland's first Passivhaus secondary school, we are committed to sustainability and a curriculum that helps our students thrive and reach their full potential.

Our SCQF journey

Currie joined the SCQF School Ambassador program in April 2019, marking the start of our Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) journey. We’ve continued to progress, through the challenges of Covid-19, with a focus on expanding opportunities for all learners. This includes not only traditional courses but also interdisciplinary learning that fosters skills development, knowledge, and valuable experiences.

Since our initial SCQF training, we have been enhancing the capacity of staff, students, and parents/carers to understand how the SCQF and a wider range of qualifications can be transformative. This shift in mindset has led to the introduction of additional qualifications at SCQF levels 5 and 6, such as the National Progression Awards (NPA) in Skills for Work Laboratory Science. Additionally, many students are pursuing Foundation Apprenticeships at SCQF level 6 in partnership with Edinburgh College.

Learner pathways

At the core of our Creativity & Employability Strategy (aligned with HGIOS 4 and formerly DYW) is the use of the SCQF to inform our learner pathways. This strategy helps shape the three-to-18 learning journey at Currie, focusing on skills development, industry-recognised qualifications, and careers education. It's also a key driver for raising attainment and embedding the 15-24 learner journey.

One of our recent developments is the creation of the ‘Pathways with Purpose’ webpage, which combines learner pathways with labour market information and utilises My World of Work to support informed choices. This has raised the profile of vocational qualifications while working to develop parity of esteem.

A large group of pupils standing outside Currie Community High School
A pupil standing alongside the Great British Bake off stars Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. The student is holding a glass cake stand, which has been given as a prize.
Parents walking around a school hall at a careers event. Different employers stalls are dotted around the room.
6 students are gathered around a desk, showing a science experiment to an adult
A large group of pupils pose for a photograph

As we prepare to move into our new school, we remain focused on local and national contexts to support improving attainment and achievement for all. Currie consistently surpasses national and city averages in attainment at every stage, and our post-16 stay-on rate is very high, with many students progressing to further and higher education. We support these aspirations by offering a variety of qualifications on the SCQF, including:

  • Sports Leaders at levels 4 and 5
  • JET Academy leading to the Employability Award at level 4
  • Prince’s Trust Achieve leading to a level 4 in Personal Development
  • Creative Industries at level 6
  • Business with Information Technology at levels 5 and 6
  • Enterprise and Business at level 6
  • Construction Award at level 5 (linked to new school developments)
  • Barista at level 5, among a range of others.

A key focus moving forward is raising awareness and sharing information about the SCQF and qualifications with our stakeholders. We aim for the SCQF to become a 'common language' for everyone. We’ve built on past successes, such as distributing leaflets, hosting parents' evening displays, and attending PiP meetings to emphasize the importance of the SCQF.

Spreading the word

We are enhancing communication by embedding Rights Respecting Schools principles, using interactive resources for course information, producing videos on new course terms like NPAs, sharing the interactive framework on our foyer screen linked to QR codes, and launching our new Pathways with Purpose webpage.

Our next steps as an Ambassador School include:

  • Exploring alternative qualifications to suit our learners' pathways
  • providing opportunities for students to learn new skills through interdisciplinary learning
  • building capacity and legacy for all students to be ambassadors of the Framework
  • continuing to develop opportunities for recognising wider achievements, including opportunities for accreditation, eg. we have created a Leadership Academy
  • working towards consistency across our curriculum being right for every child.

For more information about Currie Community High School, visit our website, follow us on X, or explore our silver evidence.

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