Wider Curriculum

Please find below a link to all the current extra-curricular opportunities on offer in Portlethen Academy.

Updated Link for 2025-26 

*Please note, this is subject to change and will be updated regularly.

Get Out Of School Experience (GOOSE) made a return to Portlethen Academy in 2024, with planning for 2025 well underway!

GOOSE runs for three days in May and the dates for 2025 are Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd. For the three days, the timetable is suspended, and young people are offered a variety of experiences to complement their learning from the year.

S1 pupils will experience activities in school from each of our Faculty areas.

S2 and S3 pupils either have the option to attend a residential trip or take part in activities in and around the local area.

Local activities from 2024 included three-day packages such as:

"Adrenaleen" – a visit to Deeside Activity Park, Codonas and Jump In, across the three days

Film Making – writing a short film in school and producing the finished product through acting, filming and editing.

There were also standalone day trips that included visits to Innoflate, Breakout Games, Aberdeen Art Gallery, and school-based activities such as Bake Off, Lego Club and Craft Club.

In 2025, we have four residential trips on offer:

• Three Theme Parks

• London Foodie Experience

• Adventure in the Alps

• Paris and Disneyland

S6 pupils all have a core period on their timetable for “Leadership”, taught by respective House Heads / Depute Headteachers. The Leadership course is a Level 6 award (equivalent of a Higher) which consists of 2 units but no final exam or assessment. This is an opportunity for S6 pupils to add an additional qualification to their portfolio, as well as gain an understanding into different leadership styles and qualities before reflecting on their own, making it relevant to pupils when they work through different projects available to them that will see them contribute to wider aspects of school life. The Leadership course launched back in June with a presentation from Anurag Rai, a local entrepreneur, published author on leadership, and founder of Superhuman In You.

Unit 1 is based on research and reflection and consists of three tasks, the deadline for which will be Friday 10th October.

•  Task 1 – researching leadership styles and qualities using four different sources.

• Task 2 – Describing the leadership style of four different leaders highlighting strengths and challenges through practical examples.

• Task 3 – SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis – short statements completed by pupil and then by a person close to them, before a final reflection and conclusion.

Unit 2 is the practical project that each pupil has signed up to work on, for example, Pupil Leadership Team; Prom Team; Yearbook Team; Marketing & Comms Team; Health & Wellbeing Team; or Learning & Teaching Team. Each project will be led by pupils but overseen by a member of staff who will sign off the checkpoints and short reflections in the diary/record of tasks kept by each pupil.

• Task 1 – record details of the initial plan for the project – what is it, who is responsible for tasks, what needs to be done and by when; what are the potential challenges and how might these be solved.

• Task 2 – review mid-point progress of project.

• Task 3 – project conclusion and evaluation.

As the Leadership class is on a fortnightly rotation with PSE, it is recommended they spend one hour each week at home to ensure they are keeping up with the tasks. Supporting notes and voiced-over PowerPoints are on the Leadership Team for all pupils to access.

S5 pupils all have a core period on their timetable for “Wider Achievement”, taught by respective House Heads / Depute Headteachers. In this class, pupils are working towards the Employability Award which once complete will show on the SQA certificate. The course consists of 3 units but no final exam or assessment. This is an opportunity for S5 pupils to add an additional qualification to their portfolio, as well as gain an understanding into what employers are looking for as well as gaining interview experience and inputs on how to develop and improve CVs. The course began back in June and all pupils are in a Team on Glow. The class is on a fortnightly rotation with PSE, and so it is recommended pupils spend one hour each week at home to ensure they are keeping up with tasks. Supporting notes and voiced-over PowerPoints are on the Employability Team for all pupils to access.

Unit 1 helps pupils to reflect on their experiences where they have developed skills and how they can relate to various situations.  

• Task 1 – identify skills and qualities and give examples on how they have developed and where they are used.

• Task 2 – exploring ways in which skills and qualities can be transferred from school to the world of work.

• Task 3 – finding out about different careers and jobs and ultimately what pupils are looking to get from these and consider what skills and qualities they may need to develop further.

• Task 4 – reflect on own abilities and identify what they maybe need to get better at and how they are going to do this.

Unit 2 will allow personalisation and choice depending on each pupils’ chosen career or pathway.

• Task 1 – researching employment opportunities – knowing where to look and what to look for.

• Task 2 – creation or update of CV and practice interview questions, using Situation, Task, Action, Result format to back up answers, before taking part in a mock interview with school partners.

Unit 3 is looking at employability from an employers’ perspective; giving consideration to rights and responsibilities, and how to deal with a variety of situations in the workplace.

Throughout each term, there is a programme of workshops and presentations delivered by external business partners which helps to highlight the relevance of the course and application of its content. The first of these is happening in school on Friday 12th September, in preparation for Unit 2 to begin. Unit 1 should be completed and submitted by this date also.