EDUCATION chiefs have been given a glowing report card following the publication of a league table that ranks Scotland’s highest-achieving state schools.

A number of schools in Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire feature prominently in the list, compiled by our sister paper The Herald and based on exam results.

St Ninian’s High, in Giffnock, was second top, with Williamwood High, in Clarkston, third and Mearns Castle High, in Newton Means, fifth.

Other schools in East Renfrewshire which made it into the top 50 were Woodfarm High (16th), St Luke’s High, in Barrhead, (21st) and Eastwood High, in Newton Mears, in 22nd.

Meanwhile, Gryffe High, in Houston, flew the flag for Renfrewshire as it claimed sixth spot.

Jordanhill High, in Glasgow, was top of the list.

Mhairi Shaw, director of education at East Renfrewshire Council, said extra resources are being used to tackle inequity at schools.

She added: “It’s extremely satisfying to see the excellent results being achieved across the board in East Renfrewshire, with children from all backgrounds reaching their potential.

“Schools such as St Luke’s certainly punch well above their weight in comparison to others with similar characteristics and we are proud of the attainment of some of our most disadvantaged young people attending many of our other schools, including Eastwood and St Ninian’s, which continually outperform those in some of the most affluent areas outwith East Renfrewshire.”

A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said: “We welcome the acknowledgement of Gryffe High’s success in the percentage of students attaining five highers, although this is only one measure of a school’s performance.

“We look at a range of measures, including the destinations of leavers and closing the poverty attainment gap.”