The report, published today (Tuesday 17 June), is the best ever for a Glasgow secondary and one of the best for any school in Scotland.

Castlemilk High has received six ‘excellent’ ratings – for Care, Welfare and Development, Expectations and Promoting Achievement, Equality and Fairness, The school’s success in involving parents, carers and families, Developing People and Partnerships and Leadership of Improvement and Change of the Headteacher.

Of the remaining 11 indicators at the 442-pupil school, eight were rated ‘very good’, two ‘good’ and one ’adequate’.

This means Castlemilk High in the south east of the city  – serving a community with a number of social and economic issues – has been recognised as being among the best nationally.

Brian McAlinden, headteacher of Castlemilk High for the last seven years, is absolutely delighted with the report and the recognition for his pupils, parents and staff for the role that everyone has played in achieving top marks.

He said: “We are absolutely delighted that this impressive report highlights the significant successes that the young people of Castlemilk High are achieving through the excellent support of parents and staff.

“It is great credit to the hard work of everyone connected with the school. Pupils, parents, staff and the wider community are justifiably proud of our school."

HMIe inspectors were full of praise for Castlemilk, finding that “one of the school’s major strengths was its determination to sustain high expectations of achievement for all pupils” and “driven by ambition and high expectations, the school was making a positive difference to pupils’ life opportunities”.

Staff at the school are praised throughout the report and concluded “almost all pupils were very well motivated by teachers’ consistently high expectations and well-designed lessons”.

The key strengths highlighted were:

· The positive impact the school was having on improving the life opportunities of pupils.
· The vibrant sense of community within the school, which encouraged pupils to want to be there.
· High expectations and a shared enjoyment of celebrating pupils’ progress and achievements.
· Significant improvements to learning and teaching which were now consistently strong across the school.
· Relationships with parents, partnerships with other schools and agencies, and the high-quality promotion of enterprise and employability in the school, strongly supported by members of the local business community.
· The outstanding leadership of the headteacher and the head of school, with very strong support from staff.

Bailie Gordon Matheson, Executive Member of Education and Social Renewal, congratulated everyone associated with Castlemilk High.

He said: “I am extremely proud of Castlemilk High School.  This is an inspiring report and follows a series of excellent inspections in Glasgow schools.  This proves once again that you do not need to live in the leafy suburbs to enjoy excellent education.

”The leadership in the school is outstanding and is demonstrated at all levels – by staff and young people alike.  I am also thrilled by the quality and range of the curriculum on offer at Castlemilk High, including a very strong vocational element.”

Castlemilk High, along with St Margaret Mary’s Secondary, was made a School of Ambition in 2005 and Castlemilk has also gained Investors in People status.

The significant investment in staff development at Castlemilk High, following the Schools of Ambition programme, has resulted in the quality of teaching receiving a special mention during the inspection.

The report also highlights the fantastic ‘enterprise’ work being carried out at the school and states “many pupils were highly enterprising, taking advantage of the outstanding provision for enterprise in the school and the ‘can-do’, confident culture that was now part of daily school life”.

A full copy of the report can be found on the HMIe website at www.hmie.gov.uk