Education expert reveals how it took 80 years for Catholic schools to achieve their goal

Catholic high schools in Scotland took 80 years to achieve the same classroom results as non- denominational pupils, research has found.

But Professor Lindsay Paterson, of Edinburgh University, said despite the timescale, the faith schools should be considered a success.

The leading academic said it showed education policies should not be judged over a “couple of years” but “sometimes need a lot longer”.

The study, published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education, looked at exam data and pupil performance from the 50s onwards.

It took until the 90s for children at Cathol ic secondar ies – introduced in 1918 – to reach the same education standards as those in non-denominational schools.

The report stated: “The Catholic sector in Scotland had poorer results than the non-denominational sector in all the outcomes in the early 50s.

“By the late-70s, it had caught up in rates of staying on in school beyond age 16. It caught up in mid- secondary attainment in the late- 80s and slightly later in senior secondary attainment.

“By then, the same proportions of it s student s a s in the non- denominational sector were successful ly following a broad curriculum.

“The proportion succeeding in vocational courses was lower in the Catholic schools than in others, although the deficit was much reduced by the end of the century.”

It concluded: “It is therefore reasonable to judge the Scottish Catholic secondary schools to have been successful in the terms set by the far-sighted reformers from both church and state who put in place their legislative basis in 1918.

“This conclusion does not depend on claiming that Catholic schools have been more effective than non-denominational schools; our data provide no basis for drawing any such conclusion.

“Al l we can say is that the Catholic schools provided the same opportunity for a socially marginalised community as were provided for the non- Catholic majority.

“The 1918 provisions set in motion a process that did not fully come to fruition until some 80 years later.

“Policy that aims at significant social change – such as the integration of Scottish Catholics into a common social citizenship – takes a very long time to achieve its full effects.”

Report author Prof Paterson said: “This is the first study of its kind to look at attainment in Catholic schools over this timeframe. I think it’s important to realise Catholic secondary schools took a long time to catch up for a variety of reasons but the authorities that helped develop them were aware success wouldn’t happen overnight.

“That has implications as to how we develop education policy in the future. It shows it sometimes takes longer than a couple of years for an education policy to achieve results.”

Barbara Coupar, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service, said: “The aim of the 1918 Act was equity of access and parity of oppor tunity. By closing the poverty-related attainment gap, Catholic schools have succeeded in doing this.”

A row over the future of Catholic schools was triggered last year by former Lothian and Borders Police deputy chief constable Tom Wood and football commentator Archie Macpherson.

Wood said the schools helped fuel sectarianism while Macpherson called for a debate on the issue.