The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Academy is thriving, says head teacher
Peterhead Academy head teacher Gerry McCluskey insists its poor showing in the school league tables gives a false picture of the school.
The school was ranked bottom among secondary schools in Aberdeenshire, and 66 of 69 across the seven local authorities in the north and north-east.
The Press and Journal ranked state secondary schools using newlyreleased Scottish Government data on the percentage of school leavers earning five or more Highers in 2023.
However, Mr McCluskey said the league tables were “skewed”, and gave a false picture of the school’s performance.
He said the town’s wealth of employment opportunities meant more pupils leave after S4 than at other schools.
Here’s Mr McCluskey’s arguments for Peterhead being a true north-east success story despite the league table results...
“It’s not possible to base an evaluation of the quality of a school, and what happens in a school, just on that one metric [of percentage of school leavers earning five or more Highers].
“In 2023, 35% of our leavers at Peterhead Academy left after S4. That league table only counts qualifications at Level 6 or more. For a pupil who left school at the end of S4, it’s not possible for them to get Level 6 qualifications.
“So the school’s score in this measure comes from the 65% of leavers who left after S5 or S6. To give you a comparison, if you take Bearsden Academy in Glasgow, 2% of their leavers cohort are from S4.
“Staying on to S6 provides a greater chance of a higher number of students gaining a higher number of Highers. So I think it’s unreasonable to make that comparison.”
Mr McCluskey pointed out the school’s National 5 results were improving year on year.
And crucially, the percentage of leavers at Peterhead Academy achieving a positive destination after school is 96%.
Partnering with Peterhead and north-east businesses to prepare students for life after school
In a wide-ranging interview with The P&J, Mr McCluskey pointed to the school’s partnerships with local businesses, industry, and community organisations.
Indeed, Peterhead Academy has worked with 60 different partners since Mr McCluskey took over as head teacher in August 2022, all aimed at getting students thinking about life after school.
Peterhead Academy also now has its own pupil-run coffee shop and bakery, thanks to partnerships with Symposium Coffee and Vegan Bay Baker.
Mr McCluskey sought to reassure parents that Peterhead Academy is in a good place, and advised them not to be blindsided by league tables.
“All our young people here get the opportunity to learn, to achieve, to better themselves, and to identify a post-school destination that they like, that they value, and that they’ll sustain. And that’s what it’s all about.”