Carla Grant, Edinburgh

Prestigious community award for Caley Scholar

When Carla’s father and two brothers were deployed to serve in Afghanistan in 2010 she decided to turn her ‘feeling down days’ into ‘do good days’ and received a prestigious community award in recognition of the support she gave to other children with family members on deployment.

Carla Grant (aged 19) was born in Cambridge and spent her childhood like most children born into military families, moving around the country with several spells overseas. For Carla, her childhood was a happy one. “My dad serves in 2 SCOTS, which meant we had a fantastic time growing up, living in different countries and meeting lots of interesting people. Sure we moved around a lot, which meant switching schools, making new friends, getting used to new surroundings, but we benefited from so many other opportunities which few others experience. I believe these childhood experiences have made me the person I am today.”

But two years ago, Carla’s life took an unexpected turn when, just as she was preparing for her Advanced Highers, Carla was informed that her brothers and her father were all being deployed to Afghanistan as part of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS).

Carla says the weeks that followed their deployment were difficult for her and her mum. “Serving your country is part and parcel of being in the military so I should have been more prepared than I was, but we also knew that the risk of being killed or injured in Afghanistan is much greater than anything we had had to face as a family up until then. Some days were more difficult for mum and I than others, and on those days we just hugged a lot.”

At the time, Carla was attending Beeslack Community High School in Penicuik in the Scottish Borders. Beeslack is not a military school, but there were other pupils like her, who had family members serving in the forces. Determined to keep her mind off her own situation, Carla decided to turn her down days into ‘do good’ days and as the oldest ‘army child’ in the school, she made it her duty to act as a role model and a mentor to the younger pupils.

“Mr Cassidy, our head teacher, knew that my brothers and dad were serving in Afghanistan and he asked if I would help some of the first year pupils who were in the same situation, but finding it hard to cope. There was one particular boy who was very upset because he kept hearing stories of soldiers who were being killed and thought the same was going to happen to his dad. I made sure I regularly spent time with him, listening to him and always tried to allay his fears.

“Over the following months, I also organised an army assault course as a fundraiser for Help the Heroes and we managed to raise £400. I also helped organise a team building week for around 20 pupils who had family members on deployment so they could take their mind off things and have some fun.”

In April last year, Carla was rewarded for her good work and presented with the 2011 Scottish Qualifications Authority School Candidate of the Year award. This prestigious trophy acknowledges school candidates who have achieved SQA qualifications and have demonstrated outstanding commitment or achievement in a number of ways, including to fellow candidates or communities.

Her dedication and compassion for military children, has also been rewarded with a bursary from the Royal Caledonian Education Trust (RCET), which provide vital support to ensure that children of Scottish service personnel fulfil their educational potential. Carla is studying Community Education at Edinburgh University and the bursary is crucial to being able to continue her studies.

“I work part-time but I was finding it to difficult to pay for books and other items. Thanks to the RCET I am able to continue my further education and I can now focus fully on my studies without any additional financial pressures.”

In the future, Carla hopes to pursue a career in army youth work or assist children at military schools.

Updated: 2011