Islay High School
Argyll and Bute Council · 4 June 2025
Back to Mid Argyll, Kintyre & the Islands Area Committee — 4 June 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL SECONDARY SCHOOL ATTAINMENT REPORT AREA COMMITTEE Islay High School 4th June 2025
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School information/school context – include SIMD etc. Islay High School is a non-denominational fully comprehensive secondary school with a roll of 176 and part of a cluster that includes five primary schools; four on Islay (Bowmore, Port Ellen, Port Charlotte and Keills) and one on Jura (Small Isles). The catchment area covers both islands of Islay (population about 3,000) and Jura (population about 200) and is rural, remote and isolated. The students from Jura commute to the school on a daily basis. The school’s curriculum model has S1 and S2 timetabled in the Broad General Education (BGE), and S3 to S6 are all integrated in the Senior Phase. In the Senior Phase, pupils select 5 courses per year every year from the same option choice menu. This allows for much greater efficiency of staffing giving pupils much great personalisation and choice over 4 years, rather than 3. Due to the remoteness of the islands, the school is completely inclusive and by necessity caters for all students however complex and severe their needs are. The school has recently been allocated Learning Centre status and pupils are currently taking part in transition activities to prepare them for High School and the Learning Centre next session. There is no Gaelic Unit in the school but Gaelic / Gàidhlig is taught for learner and native speakers to Higher level and Advanced Higher level if requested. SIMD data shows that the catchment population fits into bands 4 and 6 but this does not accurately reflect a much wider range in poverty and affluence. SIMD is primarily based on postcodes and, on the islands, these are a very poor indicator of poverty. 8% of the pupils receive free school meals but we believe there are significantly more families eligible to apply for this but don’t do so. The school was awarded £9,800 in Pupil Equity Funding in session 2023/24. This money was used to employ a teacher for 0.2 FTE to work with vulnerable children to help them access the curriculum, to develop their self-esteem and confidence, and to support school attendance. The school has a high percentage of pupils with a diagnosed ASN (48% of the school roll) and this includes two autistic pupils with severe and complex needs, whose behaviour regularly results in harm to staff and damage to property.
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Section 1 S3 ACEL Attainment in Literacy and Numeracy School Level % Achieved Reading Writing L&T Literacy Numeracy Islay High School Third Level or better 97.0 97.0 97.0 97.0 93.9 Argyll & Bute Third Level or better 91.9 87.5 89.8 86.3 92.1 Islay High School Fourth Level 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.9 81.8 Argyll & Bute Fourth Level 67.2 65.6 69.6 64.1 64.4 S3 ACEL – Gaelic (if applicable) School Level % Achieved Gaelic Reading Gaelic Writing Gaelic L&T Islay High School Third Level or better 100 100 100 Islay High School Fourth Level 100 100 100
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Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength in BGE Attainment: At S3, both the literacy and numeracy values at third level or better are higher than the Argyll and Bute average. Of particular merit are the level 4 results, which reflects the success of S3 being incorporated into our Senior phase. The Gaelic literacy levels at third level or better are excellent but this is based on a small cohort. Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development in BGE Attainment: We have completed S3 SNSA assessments again this year and aim to do this earlier in the session for 2025-26. Continue to engage with authority and cluster moderation. Continue to work on Learning, Teaching and Assessment and BGE moderation at key transition stages. Engage staff in CLPL opportunities and run our in-house twilight sessions on Teaching & Learning. Provide staff training so that all staff are data literate. Continue to use S3 SCQF levels as evidence for ACEL attainment data.
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Section 2 National Qualifications 2024 – Percentage of Awards – A-C and A-D
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Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength The percentage values for both A-C and A-D values for both National 5 and Higher are significantly above both the authority and national averages. There are strong results across almost all subjects and our early intervention letters and support that staff provide for pupils reflects our commitment to ‘Getting it Right for Every Child’. Not reflected are the vocational courses, which we also provide, to a high level of success. Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development We encourage a positive presentation policy, especially for S6 pupils. This has had an impact on our Advanced Higher percentages this session. Our numbers are smaller therefore each pupil represents a larger percentage of our attainment statistics. Pupils receiving unconditional offers can explain the drop in percentage for Advanced Highers, which then influences motivation. We are only able to timetable 2 periods to Advanced Higher courses and pupils need to take greater responsibility for independent learning and revision. It is an unfair comparison then to other schools. We will continue to develop alternative courses for S5/6 pupils sitting courses at Level 5, such as Environment Science and Languages for Life and Work. Section 3 Insight Data What is Insight Scotland? Insight is a professional tool, aimed at teachers and other staff. It is used to help secondary schools and local authorities identify areas of success and where improvements can be made for pupils in the senior phase. The dashboard has four measures: • Improving Attainment in Literacy and Numeracy (presented below as separate Literacy and Numeracy graphs) • Increasing Post-School Participation • Improving Attainment for All • Attainment Versus Deprivation The school’s data below is compared to what is termed The Virtual Comparator. The virtual comparator consists of a sample group of school leavers from schools in other local authorities who have similar characteristics to the school leavers from the school in question. This allows the most accurate and meaningful comparison of attainment data. Unfortunately, Insight does not include SQA results achieved in S3. In Islay High, the senior phase starts in S3 and all S3 pupils will study 5 one-year SQA courses and these results are not included in the Insight data.
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3a Improving Attainment in Literacy and Numeracy *Literacy and Numeracy attainment achieved in S3 is not included in Insight. In some instances, pupils achieve Level 5 literacy and/or numeracy and do not progress to Level 6 in S4-S6, meaning their achievement is excluded from leavers data as presented below.
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Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength Without the S3 data the graphs do not show Islay High School favourably in comparison to the virtual comparator. The figures for the S6 year group that left at the end of session 2022-23 are: 100% achieved Level 4 Literacy and 81% achieved Level 5 Literacy
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97% achieved Level 4 Numeracy and 66% achieved Level 5 Numeracy This shows percentages above our virtual comparator in Level 4 Literacy and Numeracy and Level 5 Literacy. This does not include leavers at the end of S4 or S5. 100% of all leavers achieve Level 4 Literacy and 99% achieved Level 4 Numeracy. The numbers achieving Level 5 Literacy or Numeracy reduce the earlier the pupil leaves school. Our S4 and S5 leaver numbers are quite high. At the end of 2022-23, 13 S4 pupils left school and 25 S5 pupils left school. This reflects the high number of positive destinations available. Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development We can only make valid conclusions by looking carefully at each year in turn. Due to the small cohorts and differences in ability from one year to the next, it is more difficult to analyse the data for patterns. However, the school will continue to ensure that each pupil leaves school with the best possible qualifications. We have adapted our option choices to include Applications of Maths in more than one column. This will hopefully improve our numbers that achieve Level 5 Numeracy.
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3b Increased post-school participation Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength The high percentage of Islay High school pupils leaving to positive destinations measures favourably against the virtual comparator and particularly against the authority and national percentages in recent years. This reflects the work carried out by staff to organise work experience, work placements and flexible learning plans. We work closely with partners and placements continue to lead to employment for leavers.
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Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development We will continue to work closely with SDS, our DYW coordinator, and all the businesses and organisations on the islands to ensure the pupils get the best possible start to post-school careers. We will also continue to work closely with UHI to ensure that the delivery of vocational, skills based courses continue to provide pupils will a high standard of tutor led courses.
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3c Improving attainment for all *As in the literacy and numeracy data above, readers should note that S3 attainment does not account in Insight. This has a significant impact on the average total tariff point scores of Islay High School cohorts.
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Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength The overall tariff points for Islay High school do not always measure favourably with the virtual comparator, the authority or the national averages, as they do not include the S3 data. They did look more positive however in 2022 and increased again in 2024. This highlights the differences in cohorts from one year to the next and that smaller year groups can be skewed by one or two individuals.
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The school does provide a wide ranging curriculum and offers a mix of vocational courses together with the academic courses to meet the needs of all the pupils in the school. These tariff points also do not take into account wider achievement, such as MVP or Leadership or vocational courses. Also not reflected is the work that our Learning Support Department undertakes to ensure that all pupils experience success by including National 1 – 3 courses as part of our pupil timetables. All three measures would significantly increase with our S3 data included. Last session in Maths and English alone of the 30 candidates: Maths English National 3 1 (3%) National 4 15 (50%) 15 (50%) National 5 14 (47%) 15 (50%) Across the curriculum, S3 achieved success in a range of subjects, accessing all areas of Science, Social Subjects, Languages, Practical courses and Performance based courses. Only when they reach S4 can a pupils opt for a vocational, skills based course in addition to their academic achievements. Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development Continue to work with pupils on an individual basis to ensure that their options are best suited to their needs and ability, in order to achieve success across the curriculum. We will continue to support our lowest 20% by providing a range of courses on an individual basis, such as National 1 communication, Personal Development, Music, Number skills and Creative Arts.
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3d Attainment versus Deprivation *As in previous sections, S3 attainment is excluded from Insight meaning that the comparison below is limited. Evaluative Comment It is not possible to make any judgement on this measure. The SIMD data on Islay and Jura does not reflect the true levels of poverty and affluence in the area.
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Section 4 Wider Achievement Qualifications National Certificates; Higher National Certificates; Scottish Vocational Qualifications; National Progression Awards; Skills for Work qualifications; Foundation Apprenticeships; Scottish Baccalaureate Overall evaluative comment/narrative on Wider Achievement Qualifications in your school: We continue to work closely with UHI to provide a range of courses :
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Unfortunately, the number of tutors reduced this year, which has had an impact on the number of courses we were able to offer. We have addressed this by employing our own Rural Skills tutor and presenting pupils for alternative courses including a Leadership qualification, MVP training, First Aid and NPAs in Journalism and Business. Pupils also take part in Scotland Reads, our Eco-group (who achieved their Eco flag this year) and the Rights Respecting Group (who achieved the Bronze award this session). Within each year group we design activities that are inclusive and positively impact well-being: S1 – Learning Adventure S2 – Arran Trip S3 – Loch Eil (focus on resilience) S4 – Work experience/Scotland reads S5 – Work experience/Scotland reads/college and university visits/MVP training S6 – Student Leaders/Loch Eil (focus on Leadership)/UMVP Our wider achievement qualifications continue to add to the experience and qualifications gained in Islay High School. Section 5 Equity and Attainment – Evaluation of Key Factors Factor in attainment Evaluation Attendance School Ave. Att. 23-24: 88.8% (87.3% Argyll and Bute) Persistent Absence: 43% (45% Argyll and Bute) Staff have taken part in ANA training within the authority and our attendance remains at a consistent percentage. Our stretch aim is 91% We have embedded the use of training materials and our A & E group meet weekly to discuss attendance data and to put individual measures in place. Two members of the team also took part in National training this session, and will carry out an attendance project to address issues for a specific group e.g. those in S2 – 3 with a pattern of below 90% attendance. The Support staff work very closely with partner agencies.
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Exclusion No. of Exclusion Incidents 23- 24: 0 No. of Exclusion Openings 23- 24: 0 We continue to foster positive relations with all stakeholders and work creatively to re-engage any dis-engaged pupils, such as with a flexible learning plan with built in Literacy and Numeracy targets. Additional Support Needs Census 2023: 48% (40% Argyll and Bute) This figure is high and rising. We have opened our Learning Centre, and created a space designed with resources that meet the needs of the individuals. Our ASN staff provide resources which are engaging and which pupils enjoy using. We have created a range of spaces around the school which support and nurture pupils with support needs. SIMD Census 2023: 0% in Deciles 1- 3 (18% in Argyll and Bute) The SIMD data does not accurately reflect our community. Free School Meal Entitlement Census 2023: 8% (14% Argyll and Bute) We work closely with the canteen staff to run a breakfast club, which is well attended. We promote free school meals entitlement and offer support to complete applications. This percentage does not reflect the number of families that go ahead with their claim. This then negatively impacts our PEF allocation. Care Experienced (and previously Care Experienced) Census 2023: 3.1% (6 pupils) We continue to closely monitor the progress of our Care Experienced pupils through the Attendance and Engagement group, the risk-matrix, reports and one-to-one meetings with support staff. English as Additional Language Census 2023: 2.6% Online EAL sessions have been working well and Support Staff continue to provide individual support. Our pupils are achieving well and have really integrated into the school community. Other (give details)
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Pupil Equity Funding Impact of PEF on closing the attainment gap Our PEF funding employs a member of staff one day a week to analyse attendance data, develop strategies for learner and family engagement and to support individual students. The impact of this funding has resulted in the ability to put key interventions in place for individuals and groups of students in order to close the attainment gap. In order to improve attendance overall, and hence address any wider attainment gap issues, our PEF funding is further used to regularly communicate information to pupils and parents (in line with recent Authority guidance) and to liaise with relevant staff and Faculties, as well as external agencies. Through our data analysis, we can very clearly identify positive patterns and any areas for improvement, which are then shared with all stakeholders. From this, we plan for whole school and year group activities which promote positive attendance both within the BGE and Senior Phase, as well as at key transition stages. All staff in the Attendance and Engagement Team take part in ANA training and actively use the resources that this provides. Section 6 Other information Across the school we have strong positive relationships between staff, pupils and the wider community. The school offers a wide range of extra-curricular events at lunchtimes and after school as well as a large number of residential trips. The trips are so important for our island pupils. The school benefits enormously from the strong partnerships with estates, employers, organisations and the community in general. This has positive impacts on pupil achievement but also results in achieving a very positive reputation within the community. The overall impact for learners is that our SQA results are good. With our pupils we evaluated our school vision statement and collaborated to write a new version of our vision statement which is much more fitting for our context and school community. This was shared in our weekly newsletter. We have worked very hard to embed our mobile phone policy this session and will be introducing our Positive Relationships policy before the summer (linking this to the authority ‘Our Children Their Future’ working document).
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As a school we have achieved Green Flag status through our Eco-group and our Bronze Award as a Rights Respecting School. We continue to run inter-generational Gaelic events throughout the year and a range of community engagement activities. All of these events are well attended. It is always our ambition to ensure that all our pupils are not disadvantages by location and to ensure that we provide as many wider achievement opportunities and experiences as we can. This also means that our pupils have been very enterprising with regard to fundraising and we will see this developed further next session by starting a Youth Philanthropic Initiative with S2.