News / Ollaberry primary scores best in Scotland
A SMALL Shetland primary school is being held up as a beacon of excellence after receiving the highest possible grade following a school inspection.
The nine pupil school in Ollaberry, Northmavine, is only one of five primaries in Scotland to have ever achieved “excellent” in all five categories of the inspection.
The seven pupil primary school on the small island of Fetlar is also glowing with pride after receiving “very good” in all five categories of a recent inspection.
HMIE inspector May Geddes heaped praise upon the head teacher Marianne Raikes, describing her as “an outstanding leader”, and her small staff at Ollaberry for the pupil-centred learning experience children provide.
Children, she said in her report, were “happy and confident”, showed “excellent concentration and perseverance”, and showed “well developed leadership skills at local and national level”, winning health and environment awards and raising money for developing countries.
The inspector was so impressed with the way the school was implementing the Curriculum for Excellence that the education inspectorate is to return to Ollaberry to find out more.
“During the inspection, we identified aspects of innovative practice which we would like to explore further in order to share the practice with others,” Geddes said.
Head teacher Marianne Raikes said she was particularly pleased the school had done so well as the HMIE had raised its standards in August, just one month before inspectors came to Ollaberry.
“We feel very proud that a little school in the middle of nowhere can do so well. We have got happy pupils who are learning well and that to us is the most important thing,” she said, handing out praise to the rest of the staff and the local community for their support.
She singled out additional support needs auxiliary Julia Odie for special praise for the “enormous amount of work she does above and beyond what would be normally expected”.
The success of Ollaberry should not dim the achievement in Fetlar, which is run by principal teacher Paul Gill under the leadership of Maggi Reyner, the head teacher at Baltasound junior high school on the neighbouring isle of Unst.
Inspector Jacqueline Sinclair said the children received a high standard of education in a “caring, family atmosphere”, where they were encouraged to have fun and enjoyed a very personalised approach based around children’s interests. The inspector also commented on the strong links with parents and the community.
Both schools have done so well that they do not require a further inspection.
Ollaberry primary school could expand in the next few years if the council goes ahead with its plans to close two neighbouring schools in North Roe and Urafirth as part of its controversial Blueprint for Education.
Its inspection score is the highest ever achieved by a school in Shetland. Three years ago Uyeasound primary school achieved ‘excellent’ in two categories and ‘very good’ in the other three.
Shetland Islands Council’s chair of education and families Vaila Wishart said: “These latest reports underline the fact that our schools are of the highest standard and are testament to the hard work of teachers and staff, pupils and parents in both schools.”
The Ollaberry inspection report can be found here.
The Fetlar inspection report can be found here.
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