Journalist and broadcaster Sally McNair has a very imaginative daughter, we can reveal. Chairing this year’s Children in Scotland conference, Sally told how her daughter’s teacher had set the class the task of drawing a picture of their mother. At the time, Mum was getting up early in the morning to read the news. When she saw the final result on the classroom wall, beside pictures of mums baking cakes and other such innocent pursuits, she was taken aback to find she was depicted with yellow hair, voluptuous red lips and a short skirt. Above, her daughter had written: “My mummy goes to work in the middle of the night.”
Politics of pupils
Headteachers in Glasgow, it seems, can revert to their old ways. Following the departure of the city’s education chief, Margaret Doran, Eastbank Academy heidie Jim Dalziel praised his “pupils” who had served up a tasty meal as part of the council’s vaunted Culinary Excellence programme. Cue an intake of breath as he realised what would have previously been his political incorrectness. Once upon a time, the proverbial tonne of bricks would have been plummeting towards him: “pupils”, it seems, had been banned and “young people” were the order of the day.
Call me irresponsible
Talking of Glasgow, it seems schools there have some distance to travel before every pupil is a responsible citizen: Eastbank Academy claims to be in the only part of the city where no firefighters were attacked on bonfire night.
Teach and thrive
Teaching colleagues south of the border have a cushy time, if gossip- mongering celebrity magazine Now is to be believed. It claimed that X- Factor contestant and teacher Danyl Johnson, was cracking under the pressure of competition. One “insider” acknowledged his talent, but felt he might be more suited to teaching since he took criticism to heart. The rationale? “It’s a solid, low-pressure environment where he can have fun and thrive.”
An Oscar performance
And talking of Glasgow (again) brings to mind East Renfrewshire. The two councils are embroiled in a border clash over disputed territory linked to the ever-popular St Ninian’s High in East Ren. John Wilson, hands-on education supremo of Scotland’s top-performing education authority, decided he’d had enough. He strode in to the showhouse of a housing development in Glasgow, posing as the parent of a prospective P1 child (convincingly, we hear). Which catchment area, he demanded to know from the developers, were they telling customers they might be buying into? St Ninian’s of course, came the reply.
It is safe to assume that this is not the answer Wilson wanted to hear.
