THROUGH Police Scotland’s positive partnership with schools, a group of young people were fortunate enough to secure places on a Boxing Initiative, with the Cowdenbeath Community Team.

The programme enhances learners’ skills and teaches self-discipline, as well as supporting their thinking with regard to positive and sustained destinations.

One of the students involved, Russell Armstrong, 14, from Ballingry, engaged well with the programme and intimated that although he was only moving into S3, that he felt ready for the world of work and that he wished he was old enough to make this transition from school.

This prompted Police Scotland staff to investigate further and to offer an enhanced level of support, in line with developing Fife’s young workforce.

In this regard, Russell expressed that he had aspirations to become a Palaeontologist, which came as quite a surprise as this is not a career path that appears commonly amongst the youth of today.

Cowdenbeath Community Sergeant Caine McIntyre explained that interestingly, he then went on to say that people from his area didn’t do jobs like that and that it would be more likely that he would work for the local council, like other members of his family.

Said Caine: "As you can imagine, this set the agenda for us to make this dream become a reality.

"Therefore, our new Employability Project with Lochgelly High School is based on providing bespoke work experience placements for students who may be at risk of becoming disengaged with school. The programme is geared to expose young people to their chosen field of employment, which is often outwith the more commonly known career areas, and to introduce them to a positive role model in that field.

"The aim of this is to get the young person to re-engage with education, supporting attainment to allow them to achieve a positive destination, post school. There are long term benefits to this approach from a preventative policing perspective, especially in the Cowdenbeath Ward area, where unemployment is high and can often lead to further social issues".

Keen to support Russell’s aspirations and to provide opportunities for wider achievement, Sergeant McIntyre liaised with Edinburgh University staff to ascertain whether they would be able to provide such an experience.

To his delight, Dr Steve Brusatte, an American palaeontologist who is the Scientific Consultant for BBC Earth programmes and for the 20th Century Fox 2013 film, “Walking with Dinosaurs”, helped to support Russell’s ambition.

PC Primeau and PC Keith accompanied Russell to the university last week and reported that Russell was massively enthused after meeting Steve.

Following the meeting, Sergeant McIntyre received the email below which is testament to the perceived impact our policing and positive partnerships are having on our local community.

Dr Steve Brusatte said: “It was a lot of fun hosting Russell today. Wow, does he know a lot about dinosaurs--much more than I did at his age!

"He is so enthusiastic and you can tell that his passion is just waiting to be realised. I think he'll have a great future ahead of him if he is able to stay in school and keep that passion he has for learning and science. It was wonderful to see the Cowdenbeath Police take such an active role in Russell's life. They see a spark in this young man.

"That's not the stereotype of police officers, that's for sure! We're all used to seeing cops on television, arresting perps and decked out in battle gear, and sometimes the news stories about the police aren't very flattering (especially where I'm from in the US these days...).

"That's not the side of the police I saw today. I feel very fortunate to live in a part of the world where some of the local forces are so dedicated to community policing and enriching the lives of the residents they serve and protect.”

Carol Ann Penrose, headteacher of Lochgelly High School said: “Our school has received national recognition for our programmes in the area of Employability and our work with Police Scotland is just one more example of effective partnership working for positive outcomes.

"We are delighted with the support we receive from our colleagues in the local police team, who share our genuine commitment to getting all young people into a positive destination. Russell is just one of our many success stories but it is important to underline that this is a team effort and we could not have hoped to achieve anything like this success working on our own.”