G84:Helensburgh and Lomond

Argyll and Bute’s largest primary school has received an excellent report from the Government’s education inspection agency.


Hermitage Primary School in Helensburgh, which has 358 pupils, was praised for every aspect of its provision.

Of the five quality indicators, all were judged as being either ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE).

Argyll and Bute Council’s Education and Lifelong Learning spokesperson, Councillor Isobel Strong, said the report was a glowing tribute to the work being carried out at Hermitage.

“We are fortunate in Argyll and Bute to boast a wealth of fantastic schools. Indeed, only last week the HMIE published the results of an extremely positive inspection of Arrochar Primary,” she said.

“Hermitage is the largest of our 79 primaries by some distance, so obviously faces different challenges to many of our other, much smaller schools. Those challenges, as this report so clearly spells out, are being comprehensively met in every aspect of learning and teaching at the school.

“Through the commitment and dedication of head teacher Lorna Jackson and her staff, the pupils at Hermitage Primary are getting the best possible start in life and are being given every chance to fulfil their potential in all aspects of their development.

“It is through receiving an education such as this in a nurturing, caring environment that young people grow up to be successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.

“This report is testament to the wonderful work undertaken by everyone in the Hermitage Primary family – pupils, staff, parents and the wider community – and I congratulate them all for their efforts.”

Among the particular strengths highlighted by HMIE were:

• The headteacher’s outstanding leadership of improvement.
• Children’s enthusiasm for learning, their confidence and high expectations.
• The attainment and achievements of children.
• Skilled staff who meets the needs of children very well.
• Strong partnerships with families and the community.
• Use of self-evaluation, to improve children’s learning and curriculum.

The report also suggests that other schools across Scotland could learn from the example set by Hermitage, in particular in the areas of improving religious and moral education across the school and effective transition arrangements.

Head teacher Lorna Jackson’s contribution was highlighted by the inspectors, who stated that the school has been ‘transformed under her leadership’.

The report also singles out for particular praise that: “children work very hard, are enthusiastic about learning and very confident when taking on new challenges”, “children fully understand the importance of healthy foods and being active”, “attainment has improved significantly in recent years”, “children with additional needs, including those with English as an additional language, are making very good progress on their individualised support plans”, “parents are very positive about the school and find staff very approachable and supportive”, “children respect each other and are proud of each other’s successes” and “the morale of children and staff is very high and they are rightly very proud of their school”.

Inspectors identified another major strength as being the support which children receive in moving from nursery to primary and from primary to the local secondary school, Hermitage Academy.

And they were impressed by the innovative work in the curriculum in terms of developing numeracy, literacy and ICT skills.

Head teacher Lorna Jackson said everyone at the school was delighted with the report.

“The inspectors thoroughly enjoyed their visit to Hermitage Primary, and were very impressed by the welcoming ethos and high standards,” she added.

"I am very grateful to all members of the community - the staff, pupils and parents for their hard work and commitment during the last four years which has contributed enormously to the success of this report.

“I am particularly pleased that the quality of learning and teaching and the confidence and enthusiasm of pupils was highlighted.

“We are very proud of our high standards at Hermitage, and will continue to provide the very best education possible for our young people.”