High success rate for Wick school leavers
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WICK High has been praised for how they prepare their pupils for the adult world once they leave school.
A report from the director of education, presented by Alison Donald, education quality improvement manager for the north, showed that leavers from the school had made considerable progress with a large number going onto positive destinations.
These include universities, higher education colleges and full-time employment.
The breakdown of positive destinations showed that
54.4 per cent of pupils going on to higher and further Edu-cation in 2014/15 had now increased over two years to 60.6 per cent.
On top of that, nearly
10 per cent of pupils becoming unemployed either seeking or not seeking employment in 2014/15 had fallen to less than one per cent in 2016/17.
Local councillors have welcomed the report’s findings and have praised the school for helping pupils embark on a positive course when they leave.
Councillor Raymond Bremner said: “It is absolutely fantastic to see that in two years of performance analysis in respect of pupils going on to positive destinations from Wick High School.
“This surely has to be one of the best improvement increases in the Highlands, if not the country and you cannot help but be extremely proud of this on behalf of the school.
“The figures detailing the types of destination our pupils from Wick High School are going to are also hugely encouraging. Our local pupils going on to higher and further education has increased by over six per cent and this is now ahead of the Highland average.
“We can also see, even though we remain behind the Scotland figure for higher and further education by a margin of about five per cent, this is more than offset by the fact that more than 31 per cent of pupils go directly into employment, nearly 10 per cent ahead of the country’s average and equal to the Highland average.
“In terms of paving a more positive path for our youngsters’ future, this is a real good news story and I’m hugely delighted for everyone involved at Wick High School.”
Councillor Nicola Sinclair echoed Cllr Bremner’s comments by adding: “What an achievement this is and we should be ensuring that the appreciation of all the hard work is acknowledged across the board from the head teacher, to the management team, to all the teachers and pupils – this reflects a huge effort from everyone involved in the school and the local community.”
