“Pride o’ worth”, the Burns quotation chosen by the new exam-setters to applaud effort and achievement, has adorned the badge of the east end school since it changed status in 1970 from senior secondary to comprehensive.

Stewart McLachlan, the headteacher, says: “Since Burns created the phrase over 200 years ago, our moment of ‘fame’ is unlikely to bring any copyright fortune in its train. In these difficult placing-request days for inner-city Glasgow east end secondaries, however, any publicity from such a high-profile association, no matter how inadvertent, can only be good for John Street. ”