Last week, at the Education, Skills and Early Years Committee, councillors had the chance to hear from representatives from Glasgow Youth Council.

I was proud and delighted to see youth councillors given the opportunity to present directly to elected members about their new campaign – more so than most, as a former youth councillor myself.

Their campaign is based around the use of school league tables in the media, the way they are reported, and the impact this is having on young people.

School league tables often discriminate against certain parts of our city where we know many young people face additional challenges and this pitting of schools against each other does absolutely nothing to help those young people – in fact, we heard that it often leaves them feeling disheartened and demoralised.

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I understand that academic results are widely available for anyone to report on, and it would truly be a challenge if we attempted to stop the practice in it’s entirety but that’s not what this campaign is about.

It’s simply asking for a little acknowledgement that school league tables are not the be all and end all, as they don’t take into account the extracurricular work or support that teachers and staff provide in schools or the extra hours they put in to to equip young people with life skills.

All these things are vital in ensuring our young people move to a positive destination after they leave school.

Qualifications are important and closing the attainment gap is crucial but surely we all have a duty to change the narrative so that every young person is proud of their school and their achievements, regardless of where it’s positioned on an annual league table.

I support Glasgow Youth Council’s calls and I look forward to working alongside them.