Scottish councils downplay school league table importance
Representatives from Scottish councils have hit out at the publication of school league tables, citing them as a poor representation of a school’s quality
The 2024 Scottish School League table was recently made public, with secondaries ranked on the percentage of pupils who attained five or more Higher qualifications.
Douglas Hutchison, executive director of education for the Glasgow City Council, said: “The school league tables say very little about the value added of individual schools and appear to say more about relative affluence of their pupil population.
I have said before that comparing schools serving very different young people and communities is like comparing teams in the Commonwealth Games medal league table.
Instinctively we don’t think it is reasonable to compare Australia with the Isle of Man yet we are comfortable doing that with schools.
Just as some nation states have more resources and take well-funded elite athletes to the games while others take a lawn bowls team and not much more, so some families and communities arrive at school with little and the school does everything possible to ensure they get the best education.”
Hutchison went on to say that there was a clear connection between under-resourced communities and educational outcomes, but that improved funding for public services could improve things.
Glasgow’s Jordanhill School, which is government-funded and has its own admission regulations, topped the charts for the seventh successive year with an attainment rate of 89%.
Two island schools made the top 100, with the Isle of Harris’ Sir E Scott and Barra’s Castlebay coming 52nd and 69th respectively.
A Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar spokesperson said: “It is encouraging to see that all four of our secondary schools have increased on the five Highers metric used by the league tables.
While this is a positive for the authority it must be noted that this metric does not give a full picture of the performance of a school.
For example, it does not encapsulate those who have progressed into modern or graduate apprenticeships following the completion of secondary four.”
Western Isles schools have also worked directly alongside local employers, Skills Development Scotland and Developing the Workforce Outer Hebrides to aid pupils in their career aspirations.
