North Lanarkshire Council insists our kids are producing better exam results than ever before – despite disappointing school league table results.
Performance levels across Scotland were graded based on the percentage of pupils gaining five or more Highers.
The annual figures showed only two schools in the Motherwell and Wishaw area made the top 100 out of 339 schools, with two ranked in the bottom 20.
The highest-placed Wishaw school was St Aidan’s High in 139th place.
A council spokesman said: “We are proud of the achievements of our pupils and our schools.
“There is so much hard work undertaken by staff and pupils to ensure our young people experience positive wellbeing, attainment and employability outcomes.
“We have a particular focus on tackling disadvantage. This year our schools achieved their best-ever academic performance. While academic attainment is important, league tables are only a very narrow snapshot of a school’s performance.
“These statistics fail to fully reflect on the wide range of achievements which take place day in, day out in our schools; nor do they reflect the communities the schools serve.
“It is more helpful to look at attainment in relation to the context on our communities.”
The highest-placed school in Motherwell and Wishaw was Dalziel High in 29th where 55 per cent of pupils gained five Highers or more.
Our Lady’s High was next in 78th place with 44 per cent while Taylor High was 131st on 37 per cent.
St Aidan’s High was the highest ranked Wishaw school in 139th with 36 per cent gaining five Highers.
Neighbouring Coltness High was back in 230th place on 28 per cent, while Brannock High in Newarthill was in 279th on 23 per cent.
Clyde Valley High was ranked a lowly 290th on 22 per cent while the lowest two schools in our area were Calderhead in 323rd (16 per cent) and Braidhurst in 334th (12 per cent).
Motherwell & Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson said: “Simply looking at success based on a single criteria does not give a true picture of achievement.
“Research has repeatedly shown that the main reason for the attainment gap is poverty and social deprivation.
“It is no coincidence those schools at the lower end of this table have pupils facing some of the biggest social challenges. Recent figures show 94.4 per cent of pupils were in positive destinations after leaving school which means that, while there are significant challenges, the Scottish Government’s strategy is having an impact.
“The Scottish Government’s pupil equity fund will deliver £120 million directly to head teachers designed to help tackle this problem.
The Scottish Government has also agreed a widening access agenda with our universities recognising the poverty-related challenges faced by pupils in our most deprived areas and ensuring that this does not hold them back from higher education.”
