‘Our school is in league of its own’

New Kemnay Academy head teacher Kyle Scott said his “glass is half full” despite the school being overcrowded and short of teachers as it drops down the league tables.

Mr Scott arrived at Kemnay Academy in March after 14 years at Elgin Academy, including six as head teacher.

Having been a popular figure in the Elgin community, he made the move to Kemnay in order to be closer to home.

The 41-year-old Banchory native had been commuting to Elgin, which involved leaving home between 3am and 5am every morning.

Just six weeks into the job, he said he’d settled in “incredibly quickly”, having been “blown away by the whole school community”.

In a wide-ranging interview with The P&J, the self-confessed “rainbows and unicorns guy” said he was “incredibly confident” of Kemnay Academy’s bright future.

However, he is under no illusion about the challenges that lie ahead.

Kemnay Academy is Aberdeenshire’s most overcrowded school, with the school roll currently at 134.5% of capacity.

Mr Scott admitted the school needs to be “creative” in how it deals with the problem.

“We’ve converted cupboards into offices, we’ve converted classrooms into multi-purpose spaces,” he said.

“Even in the six weeks I’ve been at the school, I’ve been in a lot of discussions around other developments we can make to the building to maximise even further the space we’ve got without growing it – but at the same time recognising that budgets are tight.

“It’s about creativity, and making sure we provide our young people with the best building to learn in.

“We’re already looking at next year. What classrooms are we not using as much? Could we repurpose that space? And these conversations are ongoing.

“Having met with the parent council, I know they’ve spent a lot of time talking about the building and campaigning for better use of space.

“Young people are telling us that, particularly at breaktimes and lunchtimes, there’s a real issue around social space. So we’re looking into covered outdoor spaces for them, and we’re getting prices for shelters.

“I’m a big believer in a ‘you said, we did’ culture. It’s their school. They don’t want to be like sardines.”

Aberdeenshire director of education Laurence Findlay admitted recently that teacher shortages are reaching crisis point in every secondary school in the region.

But Mr Scott is confident Kemnay will be fully staffed for the start of the next school year.

“Summer’s naturally a time when some people retire or move on, but actually, looking ahead at August, we look like we’ll be fully staffed,” he said. “That’s not always been the case at Kemnay Academy, and I think that’s credit to the school’s reputation.

“But it will always be a factor. The thought of a home economics or design and technology teacher leaving does scare me, because they just don’t exist now. I’m sure Laurence would have said the same.

“In terms of teacher shortages at the moment, I’m touching every piece of wood I can find, but we’re looking in good shape for August.

“We’ve got a few vacancies live just now which we’ll just have to hope return applicants. But yes, I’m reasonably optimistic. Things are looking good.

“I suppose coming to Aberdeenshire from Moray, my glass is half full because I’ve come from an authority where it was perhaps even more challenging.”

Kemnay Academy came 12th of 17 Aberdeenshire secondaries in last month’s school league tables.

Based on Scottish Government data, the league tables judge schools on the percentage of leavers gaining five Highers. At Kemnay Academy that figure is 32%, down nine points on the previous year.

While admitting that “attainment is definitely something we need to look at”, Mr Scott gave the league tables short shrift.

“School league tables are a nonsense, to be honest,” he said. “They’re a thing of absolute fiction.

“They take one incredibly narrow lens to look at one factor of school life.

“In my opinion, it’s the wrong factor, because it’s pigeon-holing a very small number of our pupils, and making a benchmark of a small cohort of young people.

“There are so many other things we need to consider.”

He added: “I believe our job as educators is to equip young people with the skills they need to sustain a positive destination in the future.

“For some of them it’ll be university and further education, for others it’ll be employment.

“We need to be accountable in preparing them for the world that lies ahead of them. That to me is the real measure of ‘Have we got it right?’

“If we do that, we’re doing something right.”

Though Mr Scott said Elgin Academy will always have a big place in his heart, his focus is now very much on Kemnay.

“I’ve been here for six weeks, and I’m incredibly confident Kemnay Academy has a bright future,” he said.

“This is a very special place. The young people are our core ingredient, and they are fantastic. So the starting point is already incredibly high.

“What we then have on top of that is a really positive inspection report – published just days before I started – which isn’t necessarily very commonplace at the moment.

“We’ve a staff who are incredibly committed to the young people, and also incredibly committed to continual improvement.

“My message to parents would be that at no point are we resting on our laurels here at Kemnay Academy.

“Our long-term goal will always be about continual improvement. That’s what I want my legacy to be, for people to say after I’m gone: ‘That guy never sat still, he never got complacent.’

“My message to our school community would be that I want them all to be involved in that.

“I don’t want to be that guy who jumps in straight away and changes everything.

“One of the things I have learned is that when you come in to a new school, it’s really important to take time to listen, look and see where we want to go.

“Because there is so much good already at Kemnay Academy.”

Pictures by Kenny Elrick. CONFIDENT: New head teacher Kyle Scott says issues like overcrowding and league tables don’t faze him.