THIS is how you close the attainment gap, Nicola!
The inside story of how one school has emerged from Scotland’s broken education system to be named as one of the top ten in the WORLD. Once branded as ‘failing’, Dunoon Grammar’s remarkable and aspirational transformation delivers a stark lesson to today’s politicians...
STANDING on the zebra crossing outside his school as classes end for the day, headteacher David Mitchell likes to say a personal goodbye to as many of his pupils as he can as they head home. It is a spectacle many in his home town have become used to as he stops the traffic to make sure they are safely across the road and, most of them, smilingly wave at him or respond with a ‘Bye, Sir’ as they pass by.
The open affection from both sides is a delight to behold, particularly when the decline in the excellence of Scottish education is being hotly debated amid accusations that the SNP has betrayed children by abandoning a flagship promise to close the attainment gap between rich and poor by 2026.
Yet as Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Education Secretary, disclosed last month that an ‘arbitrary date’ could no longer be attached to a policy Nicola Sturgeon once described as her ‘defining mission’, Dunoon Grammar School, in Argyll, has been quietly proving them wrong.
And despite the broken pledges of politicians leaving Scotland’s education system – once the envy of the rest of Britain – to produce some of the worst literacy and numeracy outcomes in Europe, it has shown that on the same budget as every other school it is possible to close the gap to a sliver.
It is all the more astonishing, given only a decade ago the school was branded as ‘failing’ by inspectors but has achieved global recognition thanks to its energy, enthusiasm and work within its community and beyond.
Many have asked how it has been possible and the man with the answers, who has guided the school on its new path, would be the first to admit it has been a hard-fought battle to win the hearts and minds of pupils and staff, but one that has been worth it to see it being short-listed in a contest that has led to the school being recognised as one of the ten best in the world.
For Mr Mitchell, a former pupil and head boy at the school who became headteacher in 2013 and led the transformation, it is a dream come true.
He said: ‘Can you imagine us becoming the best school in the world? When I arrived it wasn’t the same school as I remembered as a pupil. It was challenging. I used to get sweets thrown at me by one group of boys. The HMI report had spoken about the lack of vision for the school and young people’s aspirations needing to improve.’
BUT he added: ‘We’ve achieved more than I ever thought we could and we’re winners just getting this nomination. This isn’t just about a headteacher with a big idea, however. It has been a lot of hard work and we’ve all gone on this journey together – the pupils and the staff, as well as the local community. ‘To make a school operate very successfully you need the pupils on your side and you have to show young people respect to get that respect back. It’s still not a perfect school, but we’ve worked hard to develop mutual respect – and to go from where we were to where we are now is incredible.’
The school’s efforts even have celebrity backing, with actors Dame Emma Thompson and her husband, Greg Wise, who own a second home nearby and are regulars in the Clyde coastal town, among biggest supporters.
There are five categories in The T4 Education World’s best school awards, devised to recognise ‘trailblazing’ establishments ‘transforming the lives of their students and making a difference to their communities’.
They are innovation, environmental action, overcoming adversity, supporting healthy lives and community collaboration, the last of which has led to Dunoon Grammar being the sole top ten nominee from the UK in this section against schools from Brazil, the Philippines and the US.
But while international attention is welcome, it is the day-to-day business of closing the attainment gap which Mr
Mitchell and his leadership team have been concentrating on, in the hope of providing opportunities for their pupils well after their work as educators is done.
The town, once famous for its Victorian splendour as a ‘doon the watter’ destination, has seen a slow, steady decline, particularly since the departure of US forces from their submarine base at the nearby Holy Loch in the 1990s. Now, like many towns, it faces the economic challenges of high unemployment, vacant town centre premises and the ‘brain drain’ of youngsters leaving to study and find work elsewhere.
Mr Mitchell is determined all his pupils will eventually go straight into jobs or further education and, so far, through developing strong links with industry, he has pushed up his success rate to 94 per cent.
He said: ‘I’m so passionate about this school, I want it to be the best for the young people. My goal is to see 100 per cent going on to a positive destination.
‘Last year, we had the most applicants for university we’ve ever had but I still don’t think we are meeting everybody’s needs and I worry about that, so there’s no one size fits all approach here.’
It is a surprising admission, given that unusually for a state school these days, as councils face budget pressures, there is a large selection of subjects to choose from on its curriculum, something Mr Mitchell has worked hard to maintain.
And while many schools are offering just five or six National 5 courses to pupils, limiting their life choices, third years at Dunoon Grammar will study nine subjects, reducing the number to seven in fourth year.
ITS languages department also offers courses in Gaelic and Arabic, and, for those who want to learn more vocational skills – and Mr Mitchell says many straightA students want to do this too – the school has a hairdressing and beauty therapy section, while partnerships with Argyll College offer rural skills, construction and maritime studies, all big with employers in the area.
He said: ‘No one is left behind and even those who don’t want to be at school have found something they like. We have the same budget as every other school. All we are doing is making an effort and utilising what is out there. Why should we not use the expertise of our local community?
‘We try to give relevant learning experiences to our young people. With our senior pupils, we’ve found this helps raise attainment and achievement.’
On discipline, Mr Mitchell says he had a higher than average strike rate for exclusions for bad behaviour in his first two years at the school until the ‘message got through’ it would not be tolerated.
He added: ‘We’ve moved away from behaviour management policies to relationship policies, so it was all about relationships with young people and the staff and building up a rapport.’
The school’s report card in community work is also impressive and the walls of the reception are a tribtheir
ute to business and entrepreneurial awards won by pupils, along with framed congratulatory letters from former pupils, including Lord Robertson of Port Ellen.
The business and computing department, led by teacher Paul Gallanagh, has created some of the most innovative community apps ever seen, including one that alerts families if their elderly loved one leaves the house unexpectedly.
But one of its greatest successes – and a key reason it has been shortlisted for a global award in community collaboration – is its work with local business leaders to regenerate the town in an ambitious plan, known as the Dunoon Project. The aim is to see it become a top visitor destination with mountain biking trails, a zip line and a cable car ride to a café and viewpoint at the top of Kilbride Hill.
Land has been purchased and a former hotel demolished to make way for ‘base camp’ for the planned adventure centre, with a dozen first, second and third year pupils acting as ‘junior consultants’ on the multi-million pound project.
Mr Mitchell said: ‘This is real collaboration in action. I grew up in Dunoon and, as a boy, I got so much out of this beautiful part of Scotland. I want to give the young people here the same opportunities and ensure there aren’t barriers here to success.
‘I’ve got my dream job right here and so can they, if they want it.’
On Thursday, at an event in the school, the junior advisory board intends to provide an update on the Dunoon Project plans to local residents. They have also invited mountain biking specialists and provided catering. Mr Mitchell said: ‘The kids organised all this themselves, I’m so proud of them.’
It is this level of integration that wowed judges and which the school hopes will convince the Scottish public to vote for them later this year when polling opens for the final stages of the competition.
The top three schools for each category will be announced in September, followed by the winners in October.
Last week, in an online video message to the school, Ms Thompson, about to star as notorious screen villain Miss Trunchbull in Netflix’s Matilda the Musical film, congratulated them on their achievement.
EARLIER this month, Wise, who starred as Lord Mountbatten in Netflix smash The Crown and also sits on the Dunoon Project advisory board, visited the school as the announcement about its nomination was made. Mr Mitchell said: ‘Greg’s become like our patron. After his visit, he sent me a lovely message which said, “What an incredible morning at the school, I’m always deeply humbled when I visit”.
‘He and Emma have been very supportive of the school. They are very invested in the town.’ In April, as a mark of his Midas touch, he was asked to juggle his current post with a second remit – as the temporary head of Campbeltown Grammar School, which last year was criticised for ‘betraying’ pupils and the community after receiving a damning report from inspectors for its ‘failing education’. Work is under way, given the distance between the two sites, to pass on some of the skills between staff via video link. A sign above a door, which Dunoon Grammar pupils walk through each day on their way to lessons, perhaps gives a hint of what is to come. Adorned with a list of values they are expected to uphold, it reads: Respect. Justice. Integrity. Responsibility. Honesty. Wisdom. Compassion.
Mr Mitchell says: ‘I live and breathe this school and I have high expectations. But it’s not about me, it’s about the pupils. Every single person who walks into this school says they can feel it’s special. When the inspection team were in, they talked about the ethos and the warm environment.
‘It’s an amazing place… I’ve never once walked into this building and not wanted to be here.’