Sarah Stables – student at New College Lanarkshire – won the best written film award at the 2023 Royal Television Society (RTS) Scotland Student Awards for her entry – ‘Falsehood’ which she scripted, directed and produced during her Next Generation Higher National (NextGen: HN) course.
SQA’s NextGen: HN qualifications aim to support life-long learning and multiple career options while preparing learners for the modern workplace. We spoke with Sarah to find out more about her experience progressing through her NextGen: HN qualification.
Sarah said: “The course provided a good array of skills and practical learning which was really beneficial.
“I started the HNC without any prior experience with any filming equipment, so having access and hands-on experience from the get-go was really useful.
“Having a practical and theoretical understanding of equipment from the main departments in the industry (camera, sound, motion graphics, editing etc) has allowed me to explore what I enjoy the most so I could make an informed decision on what I want to pursue, but also has let me become competent in all areas so that I can work on projects doing whatever is required.
“It’s really a springboard to entering the industry with a complete and varied skill set.”
Sarah also highlighted how the support received from her department and SQA helped her throughout the qualification:
“The department staff were really supportive throughout the course and were keen to help everyone achieve their best work. Feedback and constructive criticism was given regularly on our work which was really valuable, so I can’t fault the support the department has given us.
“Having SQA check in with us as a class for feedback periodically has been good as it means that our feedback is being taken on board when it’s still fresh in our minds.”
“The course has given me practical skills applicable to the industry that I can now continue to improve upon with practice and independent learning and has helped me identify my transferrable skills from previous jobs outside of the industry.
“Overall, I really enjoyed the creativity that was encouraged in the HNC and the opportunity to try new things and experiment in an environment which accommodated constructive criticism and to learn from mistakes with minimal risk.”
We also caught up with Alan Moffat, head of department for visual and creative art at New College Lanarkshire, to learn more about NextGen: HN from the centre’s perspective:
“NextGen is focussed on industry and the outcomes are ideally suited for Creative Practice subjects. There are still hard technical skills to master but the projects being embedded within assessment means that the learners are not just learning skills for the sake of it. They are learning how to navigate projects and teamwork while learning how to be self-sufficient”.
For more information on NextGen: HN visit our website or you can contact nextgen@sqa.org.uk if you have any enquiries.
