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CV for a 16-year-old in Scotland: a complete example

A Scottish CV at 16 looks like one anywhere in the UK, with one difference that matters: your qualifications are National 5s and Highers, with letter grades, and they go on the CV under those names.

This example is for an S5 pupil in Dundee after weekend and after-school work in a café.

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CV for a 16-year-old in Scotland: a complete example: fictional example, page 1. Full text is available below.
Read the example as text
Eilidh Robertson
S5 pupil looking for weekend café work
Dundee · 07700 900617 · [email protected]

Profile

S5 pupil at Balcairn Academy, Dundee, with six National 5s, four of them at grade A, and studying four Highers this year. Helps run the school breakfast club three mornings a week, volunteers on Saturdays at a community café and holds the REHIS Elementary Food Hygiene certificate. Looking for weekend and after-school café work, with more hours in the summer holidays.

Education

Highers, sitting in 2027 | Balcairn Academy, Dundee | 2022–present

Studying: English, Mathematics, Biology, Modern Studies

National 5s, 2026, grade A: English, Mathematics, Biology, Modern Studies

National 5s, 2026, grade B: Chemistry, French

REHIS Elementary Food Hygiene certificate (SCQF level 5) | Balcairn Academy | 2026

Experience

Volunteer, Saturday Café | Tayview Community Hub, Dundee | January 2026–present

Take orders and payments at the counter and serve tea, coffee and home baking, three hours every Saturday morning.

Make drinks on the hub’s bean-to-cup coffee machine and clean it, the counter and the tables at closing.

Restock cups, milk and baking from the store room before the morning rush.

Breakfast Club Helper | Balcairn Academy | August 2025–present

Set up, serve toast, cereal and fruit to about 40 pupils and clear away, three mornings a week before school.

Check the allergy list with the supervising teacher before anything is served.

Work Placement, S4 | Westfield Bakery and Café, Dundee | June 2026

Served customers at the counter, boxed cakes to order and kept the display full for a week.

Skills

Friendly, clear conversation with customers, from families to older regulars

Taking orders and card or cash payments accurately

Safe food handling and allergy checks

Turning up on time: no missed Saturday shifts since January

Conversational French

Additional information

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, 2025. Available Saturdays, Sundays and weekdays after 4pm; full time in the summer holidays.

Fictional example for a 16-year-old in Scotland. Every person and employer in it is invented. Replace every detail with your own.

What cafés look for, and where this CV shows it

The job asks you toWhere this CV shows it
Offer a warm welcome and chat with customersServing regulars and families at the community café every Saturday
Prepare and serve drinks like tea, coffee or juiceMaking tea and coffee for the Saturday café
Operate coffee machinesUsing and cleaning the hub’s bean-to-cup machine
Take customers’ ordersTaking orders and payments at the café counter, and boxing cake orders on placement
Clean the counter, machines and seating areaClosing the café and clearing away after breakfast club
Restock coffee, milk, cups and other suppliesRestocking from the store room before the morning rush
Attention to detailChecking the allergy list before breakfast club serves anything

The left column follows My World of Work’s barista job profile (Skills Development Scotland), which says some baristas work part-time alongside school. For a shop job, swap in the tasks from that job’s advert.

Facts checked against My World of Work: Barista on , Qualifications Scotland: Results on , mygov.scot: Leaving school on , GOV.UK: Who gets the minimum wage on , REHIS: Elementary Food Hygiene on , GOV.UK: Your National Insurance number on and Qualifications Scotland: Results by text and email on .

Inside this example
  • Profile: 61 words here
  • Education: 42 words here
  • Experience: 125 words here
  • Skills: 36 words here
  • Additional information: 19 words here

How to write yours

01

Write Scottish qualifications by their own names

“National 5s” and “Highers”, with the year and a letter grade for each subject. Employers in Scotland know them, so there is nothing to convert, and a CV that says “GCSEs” would be wrong.

02

Show the Highers you are studying

Name them and the year you sit them, labelled as in progress. A café manager sees you are staying at school, which tells them you are after part-time hours.

03

Put a useful certificate where it is seen

A food hygiene certificate tells a café or kitchen that you know the basics of safe food handling before your first shift. It belongs in the profile as well as in the education section.

04

Say when you can work

Cafés are busiest at weekends and in the summer. One line saying which days and hours you can do, and that you can work full time in the holidays, answers the manager’s first question.

Rules and checks for a first job in Scotland

How do I write National 5 and Higher grades?

National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses are graded A to D, and a D is still an award; below that the result is No Award, which is not a pass. National 4 courses are not graded, so write them as “National 4” with no grade (Qualifications Scotland, checked 17 October 2026).

When can I leave school in Scotland?

If your 16th birthday is between 1 March and 30 September, you can leave school after 31 May that year; if it is between 1 October and the end of February, at the start of the Christmas holidays (mygov.scot, checked 17 October 2026). If you are staying on, say so in your profile, as Eilidh does. At school in England, where the rules and the qualifications differ, see the CV for a 16-year-old built around GCSEs.

Do I get the minimum wage at 16?

You are entitled to the National Minimum Wage once you are over school leaving age, not on your 16th birthday itself (GOV.UK, checked 3 November 2026). In Scotland that is your leaving date above, so with an October birthday you reach it at the start of the Christmas holidays. Your pay does not go on your CV; check the rate on the advert or ask at interview.

Is a food hygiene certificate worth having?

The REHIS Elementary Food Hygiene course is credit rated at SCQF level 5 and has at least six hours of teaching (REHIS, checked 17 October 2026). If your school or a local centre offers it, it is worth taking before you apply for café or kitchen work.

Do I need a National Insurance number for my first job?

You usually get a letter with it shortly before your 16th birthday (GOV.UK, checked 9 October 2026). The employer asks for it when you start; it does not go on your CV.

When do I put my Higher results on my CV?

National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher results come out on Tuesday 10 August 2027 (Qualifications Scotland, checked 17 October 2026). That day, change “Highers, sitting in 2027” to your grades and send the new CV to any employer still considering you.

Keep it to one page, and leave out your date of birth and photo: “S5 pupil” tells an employer your stage without the personal details UK CVs leave out.

Guides for this CV

Education and qualifications A CV with no experience Personal statement examples Personal details, photo and references

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