Scottish Catholic Observer

The East Renfrewshire school has moved up one place to second—its highest position yet—in this year’s Sunday Times guide to the UK’s top educational establishments.

The Sunday Times rankings, which are based on a rolling three-year average, show that between 2010 and 2012, 77.3 per cent of St Ninian’s pupils gained five or more passes at grades A and B in their Intermediate 2 exams, while 60.3 per cent gained at least five Highers at grades A-C, more than double the national average.

John Docherty, St Ninian’s headteacher, said that the school’s consistently high performance is the result of making sure that every pupil reaches their full potential.

“It is about every child at St Ninian’s and doing the best by them, and the academic results reflect that,” Mr Docherty, who is in his tenth year in charge at St Ninian’s, said.

“We have found individual and group attention has made a massive difference for us.

“Education has always been a stepping stone. The key to success in any society is education.

“If you are willing to give us your best every day, you will see the rewards right through from the first year to sixth year. The figures show that children, from whatever area, will do exceptionally well if they are willing to work hard.”

St Ninian’s High School, which opened in 1984, takes in pupils from areas covering both Glasgow Archdiocese and Paisley Diocese. The Giffnock school also has a large intake of Muslim pupils in its school roll of 1801.

This is the second time St Ninian’s has been named the top performing state school in Scotland, having previously taken the title in 2010.