Outward Bound Trust Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award

Why this award?

The Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award is a personal development programme for young people in the 6th year in the Central Belt of Scotland. It was set up following the tragic sectarian murder of Mark Scott, a Glasgow teenager, and has been running for over 20 years. In that time over 3000 young people from more than 70 schools have taken part.

The Award aims to increase community cohesion. The Award also aims for participants to:

• Become more confident individuals, and develop the skills for independent learning
• Develop teamwork and project management skills and an awareness of how to lead others
• Develop awareness of, and show greater respect for others from different backgrounds
• Develop a sense of social responsibility by delivering projects that benefit their local community and have a positive impact on their community

The programme is fully funded by sources including the Scottish Government and so there are no course fees to pay. The only costs to participants are a £30 administration fee and local travel costs associated with attending community project meetings. Participants are supported by a Project Coordinator, who delivers the residential course, attends project group meetings and other events, and supervises the delivery of the community project.

Who is it for?

The programme is open to 6th Year pupils in participating schools across Central Scotland. Recruitment onto the Award is done by application, usually following a presentation to S5 students from the Project Coordinator. The main phase of recruitment is done between March and June with additional recruitment happening over the summer and some in August before the programme begins in the autumn. If any of the statements below could apply to you - we can help you make a difference:

• You feel your social confidence is the thing that will hold you back when you leave school

• You have studied hard, have good results, but your CV is all academic and doesn’t show the full ‘you’

• You believe there is more to you than just your exam results

• You want to stand out when it comes to being chosen for jobs, colleges and universities

• You don’t really know what you want to do after school, but are willing to try to find out

• You have a personal agenda for change or development

What time commitment is required?

The programme takes place over the final school year and normally involves the following level of indicative time commitment (with modification for 2020/21 in response to COVID_19 restrictions):

• a 5-day residential course in the late summer or autumn
• a project group meeting every week for the duration of the programme
• an evening Project Forum
• a Refresh Day, where the whole team gets together to revisit their residential experience and reflect on their learning
• any necessary fundraising events
• three project delivery days.
• a final review meeting with their Project Coordinator
• The Award Ceremony in the spring

Is the award externally accredited?

A certificate of achievement is provided by Outward Bound UK and presented to participants completing the programme at a prestigious national award ceremony. In the course of completing this Award participants may undertake activities that satisfy requirements for elements of other awards, e.g. the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Saltire Award