Caring Courtney ready to tackle future career following Results Helpline support
Calling the Results Helpline gave Kilmarnock Academy pupil Courtney McLaughlin the confidence to keep following her career goals.
The Cumnock Ladies Football Club player called the helpline last year in tears, after receiving SQA results from her fourth year exams.
Courtney, now 17, didn’t get the National 5 grades she had hoped for in English and History and thought it was a major setback in her career plans.
Courtney, from New Farm Loch, explained: “I was so upset when I opened my results that I started crying and called the Results Helpline for help.
“The adviser calmed me down and made me feel much better through our conversation. I was able to see that it was not the end of the world and that I still had options. They advised me to speak to my teacher, who reassured me that I could re-take those subjects in fifth year, if I wanted.”
Ready to tackle a new school year, Courtney started to have more conversations with her school careers adviser, Melissa Masterton.
Skills Development Scotland careers advisers work in partnership with every state secondary school in Scotland, delivering career information, advice and guidance to enable young people from S1-S6 to develop their career management skills.
Through fifth year, Melissa helped Courtney look into careers she was interested in and the subjects, further learning options and qualifications needed to pursue them.
As well as her love of football, Courtney is interested in a career linked to caring for people, drawing from her own experience of being in care when she was younger.
Courtney said: “I would love to be a P.E. teacher, but I also talked to Melissa about other interests I have, like childcare and policing. Together, we’ve been working through what I would need to do to have all those options open to me.”
Courtney retook her National 5 in English and also chose Higher P.E., a sports development course and a Childcare course through college.
Courtney also gained work experience with the Police, after approaching the school-based officer.
Staying on for sixth year at school, Courtney has plans to apply to college after school, to do an HNC course in Childcare or Health and Fitness, with Melissa available to support her along the way.
Melissa said: “I was very impressed with Courtney’s proactive, and positive attitude. Even with such a busy school year, Courtney has managed to focus on career planning and exploring post school options which suit her self and strengths. She has shown resilience and is an example of how receiving exams results that were unexpected could be seen as a setback, but Courtney has confronted this challenge and has used it as an opportunity to grow and consider other routes and pathways.
“I have really enjoy working with Courtney and look forward to supporting her more in the future if she needs any further help.”
Courtney said: “After my exam results last year I was in shock and I didn’t know what I was going to do, but the advice and support from the Results Helpline adviser and school careers adviser was brilliant and has set me on the right track. I feel much more confident about my future.”
The 2025 Results Helpline on 0808 100 8000 is open Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 August from 8am to 8pm and Thursday 7 and Friday 8 August from 9am to 5pm.
Pupils can speak to their SDS careers adviser at school and, for careers support at any age, visit myworldofwork.co.uk or call 0800 917 8000 to find out about support in your area.
