Meeting of the Parliament 06 February 2024
I agree that having a breadth of subjects available is intrinsically important to young people. The member will know about the challenges that we all face with subject choice in schools in Scotland.
My point is that the project that I mentioned gives back to the local community. A report by Gillian Hunt in 2023 entitled “High Dunoon: How one Scottish school empowered its staff and pupils, and transformed a community” explains that work and those projects and why they have been such a success. The report was taken up by the think tank Reform Scotland and featured in a number of national newspapers last year. The foreword states:
“in a Dunoon context the word ‘community’ is widely cast, as you will see”.
It goes on to talk about the
“exemplary environment for young people to learn, grow, find future opportunities, and contribute their own ideas.”
It continues:
“Teachers are encouraged to think for themselves, and take an ‘outward looking’ approach to their job. External partners in the public, third and private sectors have become part of the DGS family.”
That sums up what Dunoon grammar does, and how it could be a wider model for other schools across Scotland.
That is not to say that the school is perfect. It would be wrong not to acknowledge that in Dunoon, as in many other towns in rural Scotland, there are deep-seated challenges. Within that community, vulnerable people still need support, and young people’s mental health still needs to be addressed.