Pupils failed by ‘teachers who watch the clock’
teenagers are being failed by clock-watching teachers unwilling to go the extra mile for their pupils, a college head has claimed.
Ian White, principal of a vocational college financed by a leading industrialist, said the phrase ‘that’s no ma job’ resounded in scotland’s schools.
Mr White was speaking at the inaugural graduation ceremony of glasgow’s newlands Junior College (nJC), set up by billionaire businessman Jim McColl to encourage young people to take up apprenticeships.
the principal suggested too many teachers were more concerned with
‘Best performers in Scotland’
the wording on their contracts than ensuring their pupils succeeded.
He told graduates at the ceremony in Hampden Park: ‘these sorts of things are never said [in nJC] because folk just do what needs to be done.’
a total of 19 pupils last week became the first graduates of the college, which opened in October 2014.
It takes in s3 pupils who have been struggling in mainstream schools and guarantees them an apprenticeship or a place in further education after two years.
so far, all students have gained at least a basic national qualification in five core areas – english, It, maths, physics and laboratory science skills.
Mr White said the ‘100 per cent’ success rate meant ‘we’re the best performers in scotland’.
He added: ‘We’ve been able to do it because, at last, somebody in scotland recognised that it was not appropriate to have every secondary school in the country doing the same thing. secondary schools work for the majority, but for some they don’t, and we have proved that by changing the approach.’
Despite the apparent success of nJC, scotland’s largest teaching union, the educational Institute of scotland, was critical, saying the type of provision it offers should be within the local authority, not outside it.
general secretary Larry Flanagan said: ‘there is a very limited pot of money to be spent on education. If state funding is allocated to projects such as newlands, this could have a knock-on impact on the resources available in state schools.’
Mr McColl, who made his money after taking on family-owned engineering company Clyde Blowers, has said as many as one in five secondary pupils might not be suited for mainstream schools and could benefit from attending colleges such as nJC.
the tycoon, who has an estimated net worth of £1billion, set up the school with a mixture of public and private money including £500,000 from glasgow City Council and £500,000 from the scottish government.
annual running costs are £13,000 per student – more than twice that for a pupil at a local state secondary.