PUPILS from a Gourock secondary school are looking to the future after organising a pioneering careers conference.

Senior students at St Columba's High arranged the 'No Wrong Path' event, which was organised by the student leadership team and hosted by head boy Matthew Quinn.

Greenock Telegraph:

A panel of high-flying professionals were on the top table, including a top Municipal Buildings boss and a local sheriff. 

They gave details about their career paths, followed by a question and answer session.

Head teacher Nicola Devine said: "This was organised by our pupil leadership team and complements a recent event to support career pathways.

"The pupils are learning by listening to the experiences of professionals from all walks of life, to make informed decisions on careers or subject options for the next year."

Matthew said that the event was unique to St Columba's but he hopes it will take off and help many more pupils in future years.

He is a current candidate for the Scottish Youth Parliament and has secured a place to study politics at Stirling University.

He said: "It was pupil-led and something we hadn't done before, but we managed to pull it off. The panellists were even more inspirational than we expected and pupils took a lot away from it."

St Columba's head girl Alex Cushnaghan, who has applied to go to art school, said: "The panel were so inspirational. We tried to make it as diverse as possible, with people who had gone to uni and others who hadn't, to show there is no wrong pathway."

The panel consisted of Sheriff Anthony McGeehan, Provost Drew McKenzie, Louise Long, the chief executive of Inverclyde Council, Marion Laird, change, transformation adoption manager at DXC Technology and Maura Currie, head of presentation for BBC Scotland.

Provost McKenzie said: "It was very worthwhile and it was excellent that the pupils themselves organised it. I was delighted to take part.

"Many young people may feel uncertain about their futures. Some have perhaps already got a place at university and that will take care of the next four years, but others might think about what the future holds for them.

"It was quite a diverse panel, with different stories to tell. I was trying to get them to think of a trade, as if you get skills into your hands, you've got that for life."