Employability

Last year, the Languages department of George Heriot’s School delivered two innovative projects involving learners from S2 to S4, aiming to provide meaningful, real-life contexts for language learning. 

Building on the first stage of this project in 2023, S3 learners discovered how language skills can be applied in future careers by participating in a careers event supported by three professional partners who use languages daily in their roles. These partners were carefully selected via outreach to businesses, parents, and alumni, ensuring a variety of industries and roles to engage learner interest.  

This expanded project unfolded in three stages: initial pupil-led research and question development, pre-recorded partner presentations from various international locations, and hands-on tasks replicating professional scenarios. These included designing a multilingual tourist leaflet, and role plays such as a coastguard emergency call and a sports interview. Tasks were devised by the partners and delivered in class, with final submissions judged by the professionals. Winners received prizes, and feedback from both learners and partners was overwhelmingly positive.  

The second part of this submission spanned S2 and S4 across all languages, including Italian. Learners studied school-themed vocabulary specific to the history and life of their school and recorded audio guides in their target language describing it. Winning entries were made available via QR codes outside the school gates, allowing tourists to access and listen to student-created content. High download numbers confirm strong public engagement and showcased our learners’ talents to a global audience. To enrich the experience, marketing managers at the school also delivered a talk to learners, explaining the fundamentals of marketing and highlighting how language skills enhance employability in the field.   

The school reports that both projects had a significant impact, boosting learner motivation, showcasing language utility, and strengthening community ties. Plans are underway to repeat and extend both projects. 

This is an outstanding submission, praised by all of the verification team in the highest possible terms. With the number of languages and partners, and with the project spanning across S2-S4, the submission was felt by everyone to be a very worthy recipient of a GOLD award – congratulations!   activities that form this project showcase employability skills in a range of thought provoking, real-life contexts, and the clever incorporation of input by the Heriot’s marketing team was applauded by all of the verification team.   

This submission, and the projects within it, builds really well on the November 2023 submission from George Heriot’s School – we were really impressed by the way in which the school has developed these original opportunities for learners to actively engage them in  an even wider range of real-life scenarios and opportunities where language skills are valuable and valued.  

The impact of the project speaks for itself, and confirms its success in every sense. This is an exemplary project – well done again Team GHS!