St Mark’s Gets Top Marks for Everything
By Kevin Schofield education correspondent
A SCHOOL has been named the best in Scotland after receiving the most positive report ever from education watchdogs.
The performance of St Mark’s Primary School in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, was classed as “excellent” in 11 out of 15 categories – the most received by any school in the country – in a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education.
The school also became the first in Scotland to gain an “excellent” rating for the quality of its teaching, which the inspectors described as “outstanding”.
Patricia Kennedy, the headteacher for the past ten years, yesterday said the willingness of the staff to “go the extra mile” to improve their skills was one of the main reasons behind the outstanding performance.
She also praised the help and support of parents and the hard work of the school’s 264 pupils.
“We have a very hard-working and talented staff who are willing to go the extra mile,” said Mrs Kennedy. “They sometimes shadow each other so that if a teacher is particularly good at teaching writing, for example, one of their colleagues will come into their class to see how they deliver their lesson so they can pick up tips.”
She added: “We think of the children as if they were our own, which also means we have high expectations. The pupils are great fun and it’s a very happy school. The parents are also very co- operative and take a keen interest in what is going on.
“The report is a tremendous tribute to the work of everyone at St Mark’s, our pupils, our staff and parents, parish and community. We’re delighted with it and very proud of what every one of our pupils achieves.”
The report said St Mark’s provided pupils with a “broad and well- balanced curriculum”, while staff provided “a wide range of interesting and motivating activities”.
“The school encouraged an ethos of achievement which ensured pupils were enthusiastic and motivated learners and were achieving very well in a broad range of areas,” the report said.
“The school’s ethos and the quality of teamwork were outstanding and staff were strongly committed to ensuring pupils’ needs were very well met.”
As well as the 11 “excellent” marks, the school received 11 “very goods”.
David Conway, a member of the school board whose daughter, Rebecca, is in primary six, described St Mark’s as “a family school”. He added: “Mrs Kennedy and her staff do a superb job. I give the school full marks and my full backing.”
A third of the school’s pupils come from outwith its catchment area, having been sent there after a placing request by their parents.
One such parent is Gary McLachlan, whose nine-year-old son, Fraser, is in primary four. He said: “I chose to send Fraser here because of the school’s reputation. The headteacher and staff make sure every pupil gets everything they need.”
Robert Brown, the deputy education minister, yesterday visited the school to offer his congratulations.
Mary Montague, education convener at East Renfrewshire Council, said: “This report is a true reflection of the wonderful work done by Mrs Kennedy and everyone at St Mark’s.”
THE SCHOOL REPORT CARD
THE report on St Mark’s Primary is the latest in a series of outstanding inspections for schools in East Renfrewshire.
The inspectors’ findings on it include:
Structure of the curriculum: very good
The teaching process: excellent
Pupils’ learning experiences: excellent
Pupils’ attainment in English language: excellent
Pupils’ attainment in mathematics: excellent
Pastoral care: excellent
Meeting pupils’ learning needs: very good
Accommodation and facilities: very good
Climate and relationships: excellent
Expectations and promoting achievement: excellent
Equality and fairness: excellent
Partnership with parents, the school board and the community: excellent
Leadership of the headteacher: excellent
Leadership across the school: excellent
Self-evaluation: excellent
TEAMWORK
All parents felt welcome in the school and thought it had a very good reputation in the local community. All staff enjoyed working in the school and were very positive about teamwork amongst the staff.
TEACHING
Confidence in investigating new skills encouraged. P2 pupils worked well together to challenge each other with mathematical problems. P5 pupils designed puppets to use in imaginative writing.
LEARNING
STAFF matched tasks and activities very well to the individual needs of pupils. Parents were fully involved and supported their children’s learning at home. Teachers regularly discussed progress with pupils.
ENVIRONMENT
PUPILS benefited from a breakfast club and early entry to school in the morning. Pupils felt very safe at school and were very confident that they could discuss sensitive matters with any member of staff.
LEADERSHIP
TEACHERS regularly visited other classes and provided support to colleagues. Pupils were regularly asked to evaluate the quality of teaching. The headteacher provided excellent leadership.
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