Scottish Catholic Observer

The community of Our Lady of the Annunciation Primary School, Glasgow, have been celebrating after receiving a glowing report from HMIe.

The school received two ‘excellent’ ratings and three ‘very goods’ from the inspectors, who noted how impressed they were with the school’s positive ethos and strong Christian values.

According to the inspectors, Our Lady of the Annunciation is a school with ‘confident, motivated and enthusiastic learners who achieve high levels of success’.

The report also praised the role of Anne Watson, the school’s headteacher, for her ‘dynamic leadership’ in leading others to bring about continued school improvement and her staff who are ‘caring and sensitive towards the needs of individual children’.

Ms Watson commented that the report is a ‘tribute to the professionalism and commitment of the whole team here at Our Lady of the Annunciation Primary—staff, pupils and parents’.

“I am particularly proud of our excellent grading for both attainment and learners’ experiences, which endorse the high-quality teaching delivered every day here in our classrooms,” she said.

“We are a strong and supportive community. Staff, parents and our wonderful pupils are proud of our school’s achievements and the recognition afforded to our school ethos and strong Christian values.”

The emphasis on healthy living at Our Lady of the Annunciation—the pupils have grown accustomed to planting fruit and vegetables and selling on produce from their school allotment—and the contributions they make to charities, both at home and abroad, were recognised in the report.

The inspectors also paid tribute to the importance the pupils place on their Catholic Faith, by working with the local parish priest and contributing to Masses, as well as their close work with the neighbouring non-denominational school.

The achievements of Our Lady of the Annunciation were recognised by Bailie Jean McFadden, executive member for education, who said she feels ‘proud of the high number of schools in Glasgow who have been receiving excellent report cards of late’.

“Our schools and teachers are being recognised for the high standards of innovative teaching practices and the quality of education being taught to our young people,” she said.

“The head teacher, staff, pupils and families from Our Lady of the Annunciation are to be congratulated for their excellent work. Inspectors praised many aspects of the school with a particular mention of the high standards of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics and the strong values of the school.”