School rankings show ‘incomplete picture’

The quality of secondary education in Lochaber has been defended by councillors and head teachers after three schools ranked poorly in the latest Scottish league tables published last week.

Statistics for 339 high schools in the country were released last week by the Scottish Government. They were analysed and collated into a league table by The Times newspaper.

Lochaber High School was the highest ranked school in the region at 222 out of 339 in Scotland, while Mallaig and Kinlochleven were ranked at 276 and 277 respectively.

Ardnamurchan High School did not feature in the league tables.

Plockton High School, also in the Highland Council region, was ranked at 53, while four other Highland schools finished in the top 100.

Councillor Andrew Baxter, former chairman of Highland Council’s education committee, said the rankings are based on ‘a very crude benchmark’ and do not compare like with like.

‘These league tables can provide an incomplete picture that unnecessarily alarms parents, diminishes the amazing achievements of our young people and demoralises our hard-working staff. We shouldn’t be complacent and we must continue to improve school standards but let’s do that using our teachers rather than relying on league tables.’

Despite ranking lowest in Lochaber, Kinlochleven High School has produced the best Higher results in the area – something which head teacher Rebecca Machin felt was not reflected in the rankings. She feels the figures are taken out of context.

‘In Lochaber, we have small schools with small school rolls, therefore our placings in rankings, such as those recently published in The Times, will fluctuate far more than larger schools,’ she said.

‘For example, in a year group of 25 pupils, one pupil equates to four per cent. Also, figures such as the ones in this league reflect only the number of our leavers who attained five Highers, and this represents just a part of what we do here.

‘So I don’t compare our results to those of other schools.’