Two Paisley schools are top-of-the-class

Heriot Primary School and Mary Russell School received high praise by Education Scotland for their schools’ progress on improving attainment for children and young people.

Heriot primary was praised for the headteacher’s leadership within the school and the teachers’ creative approaches to learning numeracy and mathematics.

The positive, supportive and inclusive culture within Mary Russell was noted as making for confident children and young people who are achieving a range of national qualifications and wider awards.

Pupils talked positively about their schools, particularly on how they are benefitting from their schools’ ethos.

One pupil at Mary Russell said: “This school is a community and a family. I get lots of support.”

Another pupil added: “We get lots of support to help us decide what to study at college, or what job we want to get. We have visitors who come in and talk to us about our future options.”

At Heriot primary, pupils spoke of their love of maths.

One pupil said: “My favourite subject is maths. It gets your brain going and the teachers give us a challenge, which is fun.”

Another pupil added: “We use the blueprint boards, pictures and materials, like cereal and playdough, to learn maths.”

Hilary Paterson, Headteacher of Heriot primary, added: “I’m incredibly proud to be the Headteacher of Heriot Primary School and our very positive inspection report reflects the dedication and commitment of our staff team.

“Together we continually strive to improve our practice to better support our children and community and improve outcomes for all. We are delighted that our inspection team identified how highly-motivated, engaged and confident our children are due to the nurturing and creative approaches we use at Heriot.”

Headteacher of Mary Russell School, Julie McCallum, said: “We are delighted with the outcomes of the report and especially pleased that inspectors recognised the strong, positive ethos and inclusive culture in our school which is built on our school values.

“Our approaches to wellbeing are improving outcomes for our learners and are leading to positive and sustained destinations for our young people on leaving school.

“Our thanks go to everyone who is involved in the work of our school, our pupils, staff, parents and partners to ensure we continue to deliver high quality outcomes for children and young people with additional support needs.

“Our whole learning community is very proud of what we have achieved and is testament to our school motto of Be All We Can Be! Be Proud of Who We Are!”

To view the inspection reports, visit https://education.gov.scot/education-scotland.