We celebrated our 10 year anniversary at NMIS!

The event brought together partners, employers and educators to reflect on a decade of supporting young people across the West. We were welcomed by our fantastic DYW Ambassador pupils from St Benedict’s High School, with musical entertainment from Park Mains High School, and catering provided by West College Scotland.

Our Chair, Jim Hannigan, opened the event, followed by a showcase video, highlights from the DXC Digital Futures Academy, and impact updates from our four local authority areas:

• Renfrewshire Council
• East Renfrewshire Council
• Inverclyde Council
• West Dunbartonshire Council

We also heard about the continued success of the GROW programme, with closing remarks from our Deputy Chair and Young Scot Chair, Elma Murray.

It was fantastic to see such positive feedback both on the day and online.

Thank you to our Board, partners, local authorities, the Scottish Government, and the many employers who continue to support our work, together, we are making a real difference for young people.

A special mention to Andrew from Park Mains High School for an impromptu Irish dancing performance to mark St Patrick's Day

We had the pleasure of attending the Grand Final of Turbine Taskforce – Uniting Society and Sustainability at NMIS.

Funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and led by Kirsty Pinnell, this inspiring STEM outreach project challenged S1–S3 pupils from schools across Inverclyde, East Glasgow and Renfrewshire to repurpose retired wind turbine blades in ways that would benefit their local communities.

After progressing through competitive heats, the finalist teams (St Columba's High School, Linwood High School & St Andrew's RC) returned to present refined concepts, prototypes and 3D models to an audience and judging panel. The creativity, confidence and innovation on display was exceptional.

Congratulations to the winners from St Columba's High School. Every team should be incredibly proud!

One of our Climate Heroes, Rachel Moir, Head of Skills at the Manufacturing Skills Academy, was matched to Clydebank High School and spent time in the school working with S3 Geography pupils. 

Rachel has been supporting Clydebank High School's climate leaders and Eco School pupils in moving forward with their COP26 legacy to reduce waste in the school.

Rachel delivered a four-week skills based program developing Employability Skills, with a focus on the future of jobs in Scotland within the Renewable and Green Sectors.

Staff at the school said, "Rachel has been brilliant at offering her experience in waste management and her skills in leading change. The pupils are currently working on a Waste Audit. This will help them to discover how much waste is being produced across the school and the type of waste. Our next step will be to look at solutions to reduce this waste".

Are you interested in becoming a Climate Hero?

Email: info@dywwest.co.uk for more details or visit the My Climate Path website