- No S4 pupil performed worse in this year’s exams than expected at Scotland’s top state school, and 85 per cent performed better, says the head of Glasgow’s Jordanhill School.

Every child sits a cognitive ability test in S2 to identify any learning difficulties but also to allow the school to predict achievement, explained Paul Thomson.

The data showed no child was being left behind, he said - but “if you don’t measure it you don’t know”, he stressed in his workshop on motivation in a high-performing school.

The school collects information about staff, parents’ and pupils’ perceptions of the organisations, and progress in English and maths is tested in P4, P6, P7 and S1.

Staff perceptions had improved in spite of a real-terms fall in the school’s budget over four years from pound;5.5 million to pound;5.2, he said.

- New Zealand heads who helped rebuild their communities after the earthquake that killed 185 people in February last year now face losing their jobs.

More than 30 Christchurch schools were facing closure or merger, because of falling rolls and repair costs, three New Zealand principals told the conference.