Success of East Dunbartonshire schools not due to ‘privilege’

On Thursday, October 24, East Dunbartonshire Council’s education committee approved the latest report on educational standards and quality, but felt it was unfair for people to claim this was 
because East Dunbartonshire is a comparatively affluent local authority area.

The report highlighted continued high attainment in secondary schools, particularly in exams where East Dunbartonshire consistently outperforms similar areas.

East Dunbartonshire is also the top performing authority for helping pupils find a positive destination on leaving school.

It has also successfully implemented new measures in providing for pupils with additional support needs.

During the meeting, Twechar councillor Stuart MacDonald said he was tired of the argument that East Dunbartonshire was seen as 
“privileged” and noted that areas of economic deprivation within the authority were also performing well.

He spoke of the experiences of his own daughter, who attends Harestanes Primary.

He said: “She is very proud of her school. She believes it is a wonderful environment,” he said.

Education convener Jim Goodall agreed with Councillor MacDonald and encouraging elected members to help spread this message through social and other media.

“This success is down to the hard work and dedication of our pupils, staff, parents and carers,” he added.

The report highlighted “very good” performance in 2019’s exams diet and improvement on previous years in terms of Higher results, 
and that this improvement has been sustained throughout a period of at least five years.

At earlier school years, literacy and numeracy have also shown continued improvement.

The full report, containing detailed statistics about attainment in East Dunbartonshire schools,  is available on the East Dunbartonshire Council website.