A Perth secondary school has wrongly been labelled the country’s worst performer for Highers.
Bertha Park High was bottom of rankings based on attainment published in national newspapers – in a year in which none of its pupils even sat the exams.
The league tables used Scottish Government attainment statistics which said 0% of the school’s leavers in 2021/22 had gained five or more Highers.
But the school had no S5 or S6 pupils – the stage at which young people normally sit Higher exams – that year.
Those who left did so before reaching S5.
The Times Scottish School League Table 2023 placed the school at the bottom of its list of 347 secondaries.
Subsequent reports in other national newspapers – including The Sun which ‘revealed’ Scotland’s best and worst secondaries in its headline – put the school at the top of Bottom 20 lists.
No Highers exams in 2022
Perth and Kinross Council said statistics can be “misleading” without proper context.
A spokesperson said: “In this case schools have been ranked on Higher results achieved in 2021 to 2022, a year before pupils at Bertha Park, which only opened in 2019, sat Highers for the first time.
When Bertha Park High School opened it had only S1 and S2 pupils.
Only this year does the school have S6 pupils – the first cohort to sit Higher exams at there in May as S5 pupils.
And there will only be a true reflection of the percentage of Bertha Park leavers gaining five or more Highers when the 2023/24 attainment results are released by the Scottish Government – likely to be in the spring of 2025.
Neither The Times nor The Sun, both owned by News UK, responded when we contacted them.
The Courier published its own schools league based on the same attainment figures used by The Times back in April.
We omitted Bertha Park from our table, in which Breadalbane Academy came first.
Our top 10 schools for Higher attainment – based on the percentage of leavers gaining five or more – were:
- Breadalbane Academy
- Kinross High School
- Madras College
- Monifieth High School
- Perth High School
- The Community School of Auchterarder
- Grove Academy
- Waid Academy
- Crieff High School
- Inverkeithing High School
How Tayside and Fife schools placed in The Times Scottish Schools League
44 – Breadalbane Academy
54 – Madras College
55 – Kinross High School
63 – Monifieth High School
76 – Perth High School
87 – The Community School of Auchterarder
93 – Grove Academy
100 – Waid Academy
106 – Crieff High School
122 – Inverkeithing High School
131 – Dunfermline High School
142 – Glenrothes High School
145 – Harris Academy
160 – Woodmill High School
162 – Bell Baxter High School
168 – Webster’s High School
177 – Perth Grammar School
193 – Perth Academy
203 – St John’s RC Academy
215 – Balwearie High School
230 – Carnoustie High School
232 – Morgan Academy
246 – St John’s RC High School
247 – Auchmuty High School
250 – Queen Anne High School
251 – Arbroath High School
263 – Kirkcaldy High School
265 – St Columba’s RC High School
266 – Viewforth High School
286 – St Andrew’s RC High School
287 – Lochgelly High School
292 – Craigie High School
293 – St Paul’s RC Academy
295 – Montrose Academy
296 – Glenwood High School
309 – Forfar Academy
313 – Blairgowrie High School
316 – Brechin High School
320 – Beath High School
321 – Braeview Academy
323 – Arbroath Academy
329 – Levenmouth Academy
331 – Baldragon Academy
347 – Bertha Park High School.
Conversation