Praise for Levenmouth pupils ahead of merger

The rates of pupils staying on for fifth and sixth year are steady and the vast majority of leavers are going on to positive destinations.

That’s the findings in a report on Buckhaven High School and Kirkland High School, which was presented to Fife Council’s Levenmouth area committee last week.

The report will be the last of its kind, as both schools look ahead to the opening of the brand new Levenmouth Academy in August.

Attendance rates at both schools were above 88.5 per cent, while the number of temporary exclusions for the 2014/15 period were reported as 64 for Buckhaven High and 73 for Kirkland.

There was a strong emphasis on developing partnerships in the community with local employers, such as Diageo and Bi-Fab, and the number of pupils at both schools achieving a postitive destination was high, at just over 91 per cent for both last year.

The number of pupils classed as needing additional support is 193 at Kirkland and 280 at Buckhaven, with a reassurance that there would be a large emphasis on educational inclusion at the new Levenmouth Academy come August.

And as the schools prepare to merge this summer, there is a continued focus on attainment levels, which have been varied over the last year.

At Kirkland, the number of S4 pupils achieving one or more passes at National 5 level was down 20 per cent to 42.86 per cent in 2015, while at Buckhaven it was up five per cent to 74.78 per cent.

For S5 pupils achieving one or more at National 6, the numbers were up for both Kirkland and Buckhaven, while the number of S6 pupils achieving one of more National 7 passes was steady at Buckhaven (11.2) but down at Kirkland (7.69).