My first encounter with St Margaret’s Academy in Livingston, West Lothian, was inauspicious. In 1994, just after the school opened, I was assigned to a group of visitors for a tour of the building, ably conducted by a sixth year boy resplendent in his maroon and gold uniform. Having left Edinburgh in some haste I found myself in serious need of a comfort stop. Our guide was discreetly requested to point out the toilets as the tour proceeded.

Several computing suites and fitness rooms later, he spied me scanning the periphery for a relief station. Interrupting his eulogy of the facilities, he leaned over through the semi-circle of distinguished guests and enquired loudly: “Are you burstin’?”

The portents were scarcely more promising when, eight years later, I received an acknowledgment of my pitch for the headteacher’s post. “Thank you for your application for the position of clerical assistant at Whitburn Community Centre,” said the reply. I wondered whether this was a result of an initial assessment of my skill levels.

While the interview process was conducted sensitively and professionally, the excruciating experience of scrutiny from every corner was a salutary experience for one more accustomed to the other side of the table.

I took the field for my debut on an in-service training day in September. The serried ranks of the entire teaching and support staff waited for the victim to ascend the scaffold, like the knitting women in A Tale of Two Cities. I uttered a fervent prayer that the presentation technology would not desert me as I interwove heavy messages and cheeky anecdotes in The Sweeney tradition.

The occasion provided a snapshot of an experienced and dedicated staff, open to any development which will enhance the educational opportunities of the young people in their charge. I knew many from previous West Lothian incarnations, including eight years in the antediluvian surroundings of St Mary’s Academy in Bathgate.

At my request, every year group was assembled for an address on my first day in post. Pupils were, without exception, well-behaved, friendly, responsive and smartly attired in school uniform. The degree of audience participation varied with the year group.

To the question “What is a head for?”, one bright lad replied: “To boss around the wee teachers!”

I ruefully pointed out that the “wee teachers” I have encountered do not respond enthusiastically to bossing around.

By the second day, I had impercetibly slipped into my new role, with staff and pupils alike unfailingly helpful in guiding me around the bright and attractive school building.

Among the many inexplicable mysteries confronting me was the computer which for several days sat accusingly on the desk, while colleagues successively informed me that they had sent me messages and documents by e-mail.

I reported to Neil Ferguson, the local information techology guru, that my machine seemed willing to send but not to receive messages. At the touch of a button, it was painfully demonstrated that the defect lay not with the equipment but with the user.

A few weeks into the job, I have mastered the basic functions of this alien beast, which no longer reproaches me so severely.

The geography of the school is simple and contained within one building, which makes a welcome change from my previous billet. My disorientation makes me sympathetic to the plight of unfamiliar supply teachers, who look mesmerised as they are despatched to the atrium or the community lounge.

An impressive feature of St Margaret’s is the high level of pastoral care of pupils. They are looked after from the moment they emerge from a vast fleet of buses until they return home. They are solicitously shepherded and supervised by management and guidance staff, who adopt a direct high-profile approach. Parents are impressed by this concern for safety, security and pupil welfare and it is no surprise there is a lengthy waiting list for places at the school.

I have already attended two meetings of the school board, chaired by Jack McAulay. Members are extremely well informed, serious about their role and supportive of staff. The last meeting included a presentation by Eddie Hughes, a business support manager, who was a maths teacher when I last passed this way.

The relationship between the school and the education authority is different from that prevailing in Edinburgh. The number and range of establishments in the capital necessitates a loose grip on the reins with clear expectations and firm accountability at school level. The education authority in West Lothian has a more visible day-to-day presence in the operation of schools.

The months and years ahead will demonstrate which approach is more effective.