Meeting of the Parliament 06 February 2024
I thank Donald Cameron for bringing the debate to the chamber and so giving me the opportunity to make a brief speech.
Last May, Chris Deerin, the director of Reform Scotland, said, in the “High Dunoon” report that we heard about, that,
“There is much focus, in the media and elsewhere, on what is wrong with Scottish education ... But it’s also important to talk about the success stories—those projects from which others can learn and benefit.”
He makes an important point. We all know, as David Mitchell, the school’s headteacher, put it, that,
“the current financial situation makes it even harder to provide a wide range of opportunities for young people”,
as do the many other issues currently impacting on Scottish education, which we have rehearsed in the chamber many times. Nevertheless, as Gillian Hunt, the educational consultant who authored the report says, all that Dunoon grammar school has achieved has been done
“without additional resources or any special measures”.
That is why it is crucial not only that Parliament celebrates Dunoon grammar’s success—which we have heard, and will hear, so much about today—and that we commend the pupils, staff and partners who have made it all happen, some examples of which Donald Cameron gave earlier, but that we find out what is working, and explore and evaluate what makes that model a success. Crucial to that seems to be the idea of an education system or a facility that does not exist in isolation or in a silo, but, rather, works and exists as part of an ecosystem.
In Dunoon grammar school we see a school that already operates in that way and that exemplifies the idea of taking a village to raise a child. As the “High Dunoon” report put it,
“The school sits at the heart of this environment and its purpose is clear - to provide everything and anything that students need to thrive and be successful. And a huge part of this is making sure that this environment and wider community can thrive and be successful too.”