Inspire Aspire

Inspire Aspire is a national award that young people can achieve at gold, silver or bronze level. It can be run as part of either RME  or PSHD. Pupils pick a ‘hero’, such as a sports person or figure from religion or history, complete a poster about that person’s life and values and deliver an oral presentation based on their research. They also have to complete a reflection about their own lives and values. There is a cost to running the course and there is an awards ceremony every June for the top 100 entrants, which has been held at Hampden Park and featured guest speakers such as Katherine Grainger.

This course would be run by the school with support, as appropriate, from the local church and other organisations as a whole year project or over a term, dependent on the staff involved. From August 2013 the award can also be accredited by the SQA as part of the ‘Religion, belief and values’course.

How can I be involved?

• Speak to staff in RME and PSHD to find out if the school already run the course, or if they would like to find out more.

• Run a workshop exploring ‘values’ – what are they, where do they come from, what difference do they make?

• Run a skills session on how to give a spoken presentation.

• If the school opt to do an art project as part of the course, can you help to supply materials, artistic people from the church to help create the project, or a public space to display the artwork?

• Share some stories of people who inspire you, and how your own values shape you.

• Be part of the panel who listen to the presentations.

• Be willing to be a listening ear for pupils whose hero is a loved one who has died, or faced serious challenges.