Young Scot Card

Young Scot and Young Persons Travel Concession

Young Scot is the national youth information agency for Scotland and is a registered charity.  Unless you chose to opt-out, your new National Entitlement Card will have Young Scot branding, giving you access to all of the Young Scot information services, as well as discounts and special offers in over 1,800 places in Scotland and in over 200,000 places in 42 European countries. The new card will also have the PASS hologram on it, meaning you can use it as a proof-of-age card across the UK.  You can find more information at www.youngscot.org.

Examples of discounts are:

· 10% Discount at Schuh, Historic Scotland and Go Outdoors

· 20% Discount at Pizza Hut.

If you are aged between 16 and 18 (inclusive) or you are a full-time volunteer aged between 19 and 25 (35+ hours per week) and volunteer with Project Scotland or Community Service Volunteers (CSV Scotland) you may qualify for the Young Persons Concessionary Travel Scheme. You should use your National Entitlement Card as photographic identification both to obtain your rail card and when travelling.

The cardholder is entitled to:

· 1/3 off the adult single fare on most buses across Scotland.

· A free Scottish Youth Card giving you a 1/3 off rail travel.

In the future Aberdeenshire Council and the Scottish Executive will be adding more discounts and benefits to the card.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can a pupil obtain a National Entitlement Card?

There are several ways to apply for a Young Scot National Entitlement Card (Young Scot NEC): 

• Online at getyournec.scot. You can find out more information about the applications process on the getyournec.scot website. 

• Directly via your local council team. You can contact Aberdeenshire Council on 03456 081 208 or by emailing entitlementcard@aberdeenshire.gov.uk. 

For more information, please visit the Aberdeenshire Council website. 

If you are 11-15 years old and applying for free bus travel, a parent or guardian will need to apply on your behalf. If you are 16-21 years old you can apply for free bus travel yourself.

For more information about the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme, please visit freebus.scot.

How do pupils use their National Entitlement Card?

Top-Up:                               Pupils can put money onto their cards using Top-Up machines (also called REVAL machines) which are situated around the school.

Vending Machines:     Pupils must have their card to use the vending machines.  They insert their card into the slot in the vending machine and choose the food item(s) they want.  The amount automatically comes off the balance on the card. 

Canteen:                      A pupil can hand over their card to pay for their food in the Canteen.

If a pupil does not have his/her card in school with them they can still use the Canteen by either telling the Canteen staff their name or by obtaining a PIN number.  The pupil should then key their PIN number into the keypad next to the till and press enter.  Canteen staff then check that the photograph of the pupil, which comes up on their computer screen, matches the pupil standing in front of them.  This ensures that pupils do not use someone else’s PIN number.

A record is kept in the school of all card transactions.

Free School Meals:      Currently a £2.65 allowance goes on daily to pupils who are entitled.  Any monies not used clears at the end of the day, i.e. it cannot be saved to be used on another day.

Library:                                The cards are also required when borrowing books from the school Library.

What if a pupil loses their National Entitlement Card?

This should be reported to the General Office as soon as possible. A stop will be put on the card so no-one else can use it.  A PIN number will be issued so that the pupil can still use the Canteen facilities. 

A request for a new card will be sent to the National Entitlement Card Unit and it usually takes around 1-2 weeks for a card to be replaced.