Example Nomination

In the Beginning...

There was an old Common Room which has to be demolished to make way for the only Hospitality School of Ambition in Scotland.  The restaurant was given the name ‘Sandragon’, a flower associated with the poetry of Cardinal John Henry Newman.

In February 2007, Snapdragon Restaurant was pronounced Scottish Champion of the Restaurant Magazine College Restaurant of the year 2007.

In May 2007, The Junior Hospitality Academy won the CIS Excellence Award for “Innovation in training” beating the Sheraton Grand Hotel and the Town House Restaurant, Edinburgh, to win the prize.

Approaches to Assessment and Quality Assurance

By way of the Junior Hospitality Academy, Cardinal Newman High is the only school in Scotland which offers:

• The intermediate 2 Professional Cookery qualification
• SVQs in Food and Drink Service

Candidate’s benefits from the school’s emphasis on academic achievement combined with the college’s expertise in practical creative skills.  There is also an innovative approach to quality assurance in that college verifiers and teachers internally moderate each others work.

Use of New Technology

The courses are delivered in a state-of-the-art professional production kitchen and restaurant, based within the school, College and School staff have been given training in the ICT software package ‘STARCHIEF’, which enables pupils to produce a database of recipes, suppliers, costings and dish photographs.

Creating and Using Links and Partnership Approaches to Delivery

This innovation training initiative creates and uses partnership and industry links as follows:

• Hilton Hotels sponsor competitions within the school and provide work experience and employment opportunities.
• School timetabling of college staff for professional cookery and restaurant service.
• School and college work together in the submissions of National Awards. 

 

Involving the Local Community

The ‘Junior Hospitality Academy’ has entertained numerous guests from the local community including:

• Pupils and parents of pupils
• Local Councillors
• Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell Diocese
• Teaching Staff from local schools
• Representatives of North and South Lanarkshire Council
• Local employers
• The (then) First Minister Jack McConnell 

 

Using or Creating European or International Links to Enhance Delivery

European and other International links have been used to enhance delivery in the following ways:

• Entertaining a group or visitors from the OECD.
• Hosting a group of Head Teachers from Majorca, thereby forging an exchange link with a hotel school in Palma.
• Employing the services of Chinese Hospitality Management Students from Motherwell College for bar service.

This International dimension helps to promote racial and cultural understanding within the curriculum.

Business Growth through Innovative Use of the Curriculum

The success of the Junior Hospitality Academy and its associated media attention has contributed towards Motherwell College securing new contacts with:

• Macdonald Hotels
• Hilton Hotels
• Grampian Foods

Similarly, Snapdragon Restaurant has a steadily increasing diary of hospitality bookings.

An Innovative Initiative which has been sustained over a Period of Time and which will continue into the Foreseeable Future

Below is a table, which charts the growth of hospitality curriculum activity in relation to this imitative.  As you can see, the figures demonstrate a substantial increase in students choosing ‘Hospitality’ as a vocational option, and point towards a healthy future.

Students Involved in SQA Hospitality Courses
Pre 2005	Intermediate 2 Practical Cookery	20
2005 – 2006	Intermediate 2 Practical Cookery	20
	Intermediate 1 Practical Cookery	50
2006 – 2007	Intermediate 2 Professional Cookery	12
	Intermediate 2 Practical Cookery	45
	Intermediate 1 Practical Cookery	110
	SVQ Food and Drink Service	6
2007 – 2008	Intermediate 2 Professional Cookery	27
	Intermediate 2 Practical Cookery	45
	Intermediate 1 Practical Cookery	110
	SVQ Food and Drink Service	12

 

Evaluation of the Junior Hospitality Academy

Evaluation of the Junior Hospitality Academy has taken place in two main ways:

From the table above you can see the growth in the uptake of hospitality since the launch of the initiative.

Winning the College Restaurant of the Year and the CIS Excellence ‘Innovation in Training’ awards is a substantial ‘industry recognised’ measure of success.

A border and more academic evaluation of the imitative is currently being carried out by Glasgow University.

Quantifiable Benefits of the Initiative

The quantifiable benefits of the Junior Hospitality Academy are as follows:

• Increase in number of ‘Hospitality’ SQA enrolments within Cardinal Newman High School from 20 in 2004/2005 to 173 in 2006/2007.
• Two National Awards won in the last six months.
• 16 students visiting London in March 2007 for the Restaurant of the year Award Ceremony, Incorporating an all expenses paid trip, dining on board a floating restaurant on the Thames, and accommodation in Hilton Hotels.
• 14 students visiting Lochgreen House Hotel in Troon for a dining experience prepared by ‘Chef of the Year’, Willie Pike.
• 70 students participating in the ‘Improve Challenge’ competition with five students being presented with luxury food hamper as runner-up prize. 

 

An Innovative Initiative which has been integrated unto the Curriculum

The walls and alcoves of the restaurant are used to showcase the artwork and photography of pupils.  The business Studies Department participates in reception skills and carries out tasks such as administration of booking and payments. Furthermore, the ‘Academy’ is the main focus of ‘enterprise’ activity within the school.

An Innovative Initiative which is not Common Practice

The ‘Junior Hospitality Academy ‘is a unique innovative initiative in that:

• It constitutes Scotland’s only professional Teaching Kitchen and restaurant sited within a secondary school.
• Cardinal Newman High is the only school in Scotland which offers its third year pupils the option of an intermediate 2 Professional Cookery qualification.
• Cardinal Newman High is the only school in Scotland which offers its sixth year pupils SVQs in Food and Drink Service on the school premises.
• Cardinal Newman High is the first ever school to have won the Scottish College Restaurant of the Year competition, having beaten the Adam Smith Institute and Forth Valley College in the Scottish final.

 

- Word Count 991

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