One state school rated as 'excellent' in nine years is an indictment of SNP's track record on education

The Scottish Government must work harder to ensure all schools provide 'excellent' education (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images

Hyndland School in Glasgow is the only state secondary to be deemed to be excellent at teaching, learning and assessment since the current inspection system began in 2016

Hyndland School in Glasgow is to be congratulated on becoming the first state secondary in Scotland to be rated as “excellent” for “learning, teaching and assessment” since the current inspection method was introduced in 2016.

However, the nine-year wait for a state school to earn this accolade contains its own criticism of the SNP’s track record. After the Scottish Government announced plans for a “Centre of Teaching Excellence” last year, secondary headteachers’ body School Leaders Scotland quipped that the word had been “tarnished” by the much-criticised Curriculum for Excellence.

Perhaps the Scottish Government will now show some humility and learn from the teachers at Hyndland, particularly as a quarter of its pupils are from deprived areas.

Educational league tables provide useful information, but all schools need to be performing at a high level as, in many cases, the idea of parental choice is little more than an illusion. In 2023/24, 151 requests for out-of-catchment midterm placings at Hyndland were refused, with just nine accepted.

Not every child can go to Hyndland, but they all deserve an ‘excellent’ education.

One state school rated as 'excellent' in nine years is an indictment of SNP's track record on education

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