Lockhart Campus school leavers' event

Pupils, parents and carers were recently invited to a Life After Lockhart event at North Ayrshire’s flagship ASN Campus.

The event welcomed 14 employability and vocational partner organisations to the school’s Main Hall to support planning for life beyond school.

Partners in attendance included the council’s Money Smart (Welfare Rights Advice) team, Trindlemoss Day Opportunities, Ko-Next specialised support services, Ayrshire College, Barnardo’s, MCR Pathways mentoring service for care-experienced young people, The Community Brokerage Network, Sense Scotland and the George Stevenston Community Hub.

The well-attended event was designed to help parents and carers to learn more about the range of services, opportunities, and pathways available on our doorstep as young people prepare for their transition into adult life.

Throughout the morning session, attendees were able to speak directly with partner agencies offering advice on building independence, practical life skills, transitions, employability, further learning, workplace readiness, health and wellbeing, and community support.

John Herd, Depute Head Teacher shared: “The Life After Lockhart event is one of the most meaningful parts of our year. It gives our young people and their families a clear picture of the opportunities ahead and helps build confidence for the transition into adult life.

“Seeing our partners, staff and pupils come together to celebrate skills, aspirations and future pathways truly reflects the heart of our campus community.”

The event was also a chance to shine a spotlight on the incredible work of dedicated pupils and mentors working across the school’s twelve Developing the Young Workforce Ayrshire (DYW) initiatives.

DYW and Lockhart Campus have worked together on a range of employability projects over the last four years with the support of lecturers from Ayrshire College and local businesses.

The employability projects alone have supported over 100 pupils in the past four years. Lockhart Campus currently has twelve ambitious Developing Young Workforce projects that are part of the Lockhart Skills Academy.

From bike upcycling and barista pop-up to outdoor skills and freshly baked cakes on campus, the Lockhart Skills Academy workstreams – funded by Developing the Young Workforce Ayrshire (DYW) – are supported by school staff to empower pupils to develop core skills in: literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing along with independent living.

Andrew McClelland, Head of Education commented “Thank you to Lockhart Campus for delivering this worthwhile event.

“Lockhart Campus has had a strong success rate when it comes to positive destinations in the last academic year and this is above the national average.

“Their commitment to readying senior pupils for the often challenging transition to adult life is an excellent example of how our schools are championing the Wellbeing Council Plan priority . This is our contract with communities to ensure that wellbeing is at the heart of local life and opportunities, with a focus on tackling inequalities, Developing the Young Workforce and ensuring positive destinations for school leavers.

“As well as the stallholders, pupils also contributed very well on the day as guides for the Life After Lockhart event and showcased a number of the school’s Developing Young Workforce enterprise streams including Campus Cakes, Lockhart Textiles and the Lockhart Growers gardening group.

“We are grateful to all parents, carers, and partners who engaged with the event, and we hope it continues to strengthen confidence and understanding around the next steps for Lockhart’s young people.”

Wendy added: “As a Rights Respecting (Silver) School, we are committed to championing our learners providing them with equal access to opportunities to broaden the school curriculum via vocational and lifestyle projects.

“Our DYW provision and uptake remains strong with excellent engagement from all involved and we are excited to see more projects flourish throughout the school year, stay tuned for updates.”

Part of the Lockhart Skills Academy, the Developing the Young Workforce in-school projects include:

• Lockhart Life Skills Hub – where students can develop essential domestic life skills through hands-on activities within the school environment
• Lockhart Childcare – an opportunity to experience working within a childcare setting and supporting the development of pre-school children
• Lockhart Campus Cakes – where pupils get to bake delicious cupcakes and decorate them with delicious toppings for pupils and the wider community
• Lockhart Community Group – a youth-led community group that is building relationships in the Three Towns and promoting pupils independent living skills
• Lockhart Outdoor Education – where learning centres around the Lockhart community garden and students can learn about garden maintenance, landscaping, biodiversity, conservation and nature
• Lockhart Hair and Beauty – honing hairstyling techniques like plaits, up-do’s and historical looks and developing creative nail design techniques
• Lockhart Textiles – with sewing machine and equipment to upcycle items and create tote bags and seasonal decorations and items for sale at school fayres
• Lockhart Coffee Shop – where pupils can learn barista, hospitality and customer service skills
• Lockhart Growers – an outdoor project where plants, flowers and fresh organic produce is grown in the gardens and horticultural skills are developed
• Lockhart Bee Kind – allowing pupils to gain a richer understanding of biodiversity and the natural world via the school’s own beehive and selling the honey via the school shop
• Lockhart Digital Media – an in-house team of students interested in gaming, tech, web development, cybersecurity and teaching others to stay safe online and
• Lockhart Wheelies – a bicycle repair and upcycling project helping pupils to saddle up and learn how to repair and maintain their bike all year round.

Each of the DYW projects provides students with a hands-on approach to learning, which helps develop their communication skills, commitment, interpersonal skills and above all, pupil confidence.

Published: 30 March 2026