Injustice as Perth secondary ranked country’s worst for Higher results – before pupils got chance to sit the exams

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:

1. Breadalbane Academy
2. Kinross High School
3. Madras College
4. Monifieth High School
5. Perth High School
6. The Community School of Auchterarder
7. Grove Academy
8. Waid Academy
9. Crieff High School
10. 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.