The GOALS Project (Greater Opportunity of Access and Learning with Schools) was a scheme which aimed to widen access to Higher Education at University or College, by encouraging pupils to be ambitious about their futures, viewing Higher Education as a realistic and exciting prospect. A number of educational institutions in Western Scotland ran programmes as part of this scheme between 2000 and 2008.

Out of this grew the FOCUS West Project (Focus on College and University Studies in the West of Scotland), which builds on the lessons learned from GOALS, and with a specific remit to work with pupils from S3 - S6 in 29 secondary schools in the West of Scotland.

As part of the original GOALS Project, I delivered Drama Workshops for both Glasgow Caledonian University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly RSAMD):


Drama Workshop Leader / Glasgow Caledonian University
June 2006 - June 2008
For Primary 7 pupils

These drama workshops ran as part of Primary 7 visits to Higher Education Campuses, during which the pupils also participated in an environmental science workshop and got a tour of the campus. For the Drama, the schools could choose between either a workshop on Fairtrade or one on Recycling.

The P7 Workshop concluded in 2008.


Drama Workshop Leader / Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
January 2004 - June 2010
For S1 pupils

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's Interactive Drama Workshop, Envision Your Future, was designed to challenge pupils at S1 year level to consider their personal potential, their future education and career paths, and how best to go about achieving these ambitions. Through the workshop they followed the fictional life of a character called Charlie, and thought about this in relation to their own lives. By actively engaging with 'Charlie' the pupils learnt how they could tackle the challenges they might personally face as they approached a critical stage in their educational and social development, informing decision-making about their continuing education, training and employment. By the end of the workshop pupils had an improved understanding of the opportunities available to them and also a greater sense of how they could shape their own future.

When the GOALS Project ended in 2008, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland sought to continue developing and delivering the Envision Your Future workshop, and so it became part of the FOCUS West programme for Schools for a short while, concluding in June 2010.


For more information:
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland / Schools programme
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland / FOCUS West
West Forum / FOCUS West

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