GLASGOW’S education chief has come under fire after she recommended pupils in Glasgow looking for a good education should go to a private school or to a school in East Renfrewshire.
In our sister paper, the Glasgow Evening Times, Councillor Liz Cameron is reported to have recommended fee-paying St Aloysius as the best school in the city.
The councillor was taking part in a conversation with pupils at her old school, Notre Dame, when she was asked for a good choice of school for one of the pupil’s brother.
Cameron first suggested St Aloysius before praising St Ninian’s High School, in Giffnock, a leafy suburb of Glasgow in East Renfrewshire. She then didn’t name any schools in Glasgow.
Later, the executive member for education told the Evening Times: “One of my main responsibilities is to publicise Glasgow’s schools. One of my main jobs is persuading people that our primary schools are fabulous, which they are, and that our secondary schools perform at an extremely high level.
“Local children for local schools is my mantra.”
Yesterday the SNP’s education spokesman Feargal Dalton said he would be writing to Cameron.
“I think it is unfortunate that Liz Cameron has recommended schools outside Glasgow, or outside the control of our council, when we have a number of fine secondary schools in Glasgow. We need to ensure that our schools aspire to match and surpass the best in Scotland to give our children the best start in life.
“That is why I will be writing to the Executive Member for Children and Young People, calling on her to present a strategy for making Glasgow’s schools the best in the country.”
Yearly fees at St Aloysius start at £6,453 for nursery and run to £10,908 for secondary school pupils.
The council is responsible for 138 primary schools, 30 secondary schools and 43 schools for children with additional support needs.
Earlier this year the Herald said Jordanhill in Glasgow was the country’s best-performing secondary in the public sector.
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