Headteacher allays fears over school's progress

Jamie MacDonald • Published 28 Apr 2010 11:10 0 Comments

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PARENTS of children preparing to attend Lornshill Academy have declared themselves to be pleased with the progress being made at the school.

A meeting was held on Thursday and some parents raised concerns over the quality of education at the secondary.

In the Scottish Exam League Tables for 2009 Clackmannanshire schools achieved a lowly rating. The figures included the statistic that only 14 per cent of S4 Lornshill pupils went on to achieve three or more Highers. In comparison Wallace High in Stirling achieved a rating of 26 per cent.

Parents from associated primary schools parent councils were invited to the meeting and afterwards they appeared very happy with what they were told by Lornshill's headteacher Danny Murphy, five principal teachers and two of the school's pupils.

Michael Payne, chair of Craigbank Primary Parent Council, told the Advertiser, "Danny Murphy said he would 'allay and address any fears there may be regarding the Lornshill league table position and the level of attainment being achieved by pupils' and he absolutely met that objective.

"There is no doubt there is a real drive and caring attitude towards the children and it came through loud and clear."

In two of the past three years Lornshill pupils have taken awards as the best student in Scotland in national exams. Long term trends also show a continuing improvement in examination performance.

Parents were also told support was on offer to help students, with each one setting a target for his/her own performance in discussion with a teacher. Regular reports are also made to parents on progress towards the set target, with follow-up discussions for those in danger of falling short.

Extra study sessions are available and special tips are provided on ways to improve grades and exam performance.

Relevant guest speakers are invited to the school and a balance of activities are struck which includes sports and the arts, not just academic study.

After the meeting Mr Murphy said it had been a very useful meeting and had helped parents with children in primary school to understand better how the school supports every child to do his or her best.

He added, "It's understandable that parents of primary age children, who have possibly not been inside a secondary school since they were at school themselves, might be concerned about the experiences their children will have at secondary school.

"It was good to have the opportunity to demonstrate how much the school does to support our pupils to achieve their best and to reassure parents about the quality of our work. Our senior pupils who attended the evening are great adverts for the school."

SNP councillor Mark English has voiced his worries that the county's secondary schools are not making as positive an impact on pupils education as he would like.

He said, "The figures show there is still a degree of stagnation when compared to the national figures. Headteachers put in place systems to deal with these issues but it is a question of whether they are robust enough and well funded enough to be effective."

He added, "In the last budget the council had looked to cut teacher training budgets and study classes - there has to be concerns as to whether we have enough resources to sustain the system as a whole.

"Attainment has been low at Alloa and Lornshill. Is the extra help being carried out across the board? From disadvantaged kids to more able pupils are we extending the more able pupils to the best we can?"

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