Revealed: true extent of Edinburgh’s state school segregation

INVESTIGATION

BY PAUL HUTCHEON

ANEW analysis today reveals the full extent of Edinburgh’s segregated school system and casts doubt on whether the city can claim to be delivering genuine comprehensive education. Over 40 per cent of Edinburgh’s state secondaries have been dominated by pupils from prosperous areas, reflecting a catchment system that rewards parents who can afford to move to better areas.

At Westminster, Prime Minister Theresa May sparked fury after she supported a new generation of grammar schools, which select pupils on the basis of ability at the age of 11.

Politicians in Scotland attacked the policy and backed comprehensives, which are non-selective and supposed to include pupils from a range of backgrounds.

But statistics from Education Scotland – a quango that inspects schools and takes the lead on the curriculum – raises questions about the inclusivity of Edinburgh secondaries.

It is widely known about 25 per cent of pupils in the capital attend independent schools. Middle-class parents also commandeer places in Edinburgh’s top state secondaries by moving into a desirable catchment area.

The body’s figures reveal the way the catchment system entrenches social division and leaves behind a lottery for everyone else.

Education Scotland provides a school-byschool breakdown of school leavers from 201415 and where they live. It relies on five categories in the 2012 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) to map out where the leavers are based: on a sliding scale, SIMD1 includes the most deprived parts of Scotland; and SIMD5 encompasses the most affluent areas.

In seven of Edinburgh’s 23 secondaries, over 60 per cent of the 2014-15 leavers were in either SIMD1 or 2. In 10 schools, over 60 per cent of the leavers lived in the wealthier SIMD4 and 5 areas of the city. At Boroughmuir High, 87 per cent were from SIMD4 and 5, while less than 10 per cent of leavers were from the two categories at the other end of the spectrum.

James Gillespie’s High School, a five-minute walk from from Boroughmuir, was similar: 78 per cent came from the top two SIMD groups, but only 14 per cent of school leavers were from SIMD1 and 2. But in the neighbouring catchment serving Castlebrae Community High School, up to 93 per cent of school leavers were located in SIMD1 and 2. The figure was less than five per cent for the least deprived categories.

Craigroyston Community High School in the north of the city paints a similar picture: up to 80 per cent of school leavers were from poorer areas, while less than five per cent came from SIMD 4 and 5.

At the Wester Hailes Education Centre (WHEC), 88 per cent of leavers were judged to be from the bottom two deprivation categories. Not a single school leaver was from SIMD4 or 5.

Ten of the city’s 23 secondary schools – including Forrester High, which educated Deputy First Minister John Swinney – have fewer than 15 per cent of their school leavers from the most wealthy SIMD group.

CAVEATS apply to the figures: SIMD is based on geographical areas and does not identify people. A poor person can be based in a wealthy area, while a middle-income earner can live in a relatively deprived part of the city. But the data appears to confirm educational outcomes in Edinburgh are heavily influenced by where you live and if you have the finances to move into a wealthier catchment.

At Boroughmuir, James Gillespie’s and the Royal High School, the proportion of leavers in 2014-15 who achieved Level 5 or better at literacy and numeracy was 73 per cent, 67 per cent and 72 per cent. By contrast, the figures for Castlebrae, Craigroyston and WHEC were 21 per cent, 24 per cent and 20 per cent.

Keir Bloomer, chairman of Reform Scotland’s Commission on School Reform, said: “Bussing [moving children by bus from one area to another to achieve greater equality] is not a solution in a democratic society. What can be done to to ameliorate the impact of disadvantage in schools where it is concentrated?

“This has to do with providing better targeted, personalised, culturally-enriched education in such schools.”

Councillor Paul Godzik, convener of the Education, Children & Families Committee at Edinburgh City Council, said: “The outcomes for pupils through positive destinations and exam statistics are continuing to rise.

“However, it is our declared intention to continue to close the gap for those young people who are disadvantaged by poverty.”