Readers' Letters: Bridge the attainment gap with pipe bands in schools

There are big lessons to be learned from the successes of Preston Lodge High School in East Lothian over the last decade or so, whether in terms of musical or academic performance. What has been achieved through imaginative public/private partnership deserves to be known across Scotland and beyond, as Preston Lodge proves itself to be a school well worthy of the accolade “comprehensive”

Through the building up of discipline, ability, community and huge good fun the young people of Preston Lodge's bands have proved themselves willing learners to their teachers, giving so much to their fine school while enhancing so very clearly their own life prospects.

If the SNP government is remotely serious about closing Scotland's dismal attainment gap in the short to medium term, it should pack its education boffins onto the Waverley to Prestonpans train and take a ride. This would prove to be a short journey of considerable discovery.

Rev Dr Robin Hill, Longniddry, East Lothian

Learn lesson

On 1 August, five days before the 80th anniversary of America dropping the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima (marked yesterday), in response to an ill-advised tweet by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, President Trump ordered two ballistic nuclear submarines closer to Russia. A few days earlier the commander of the US Army in Europe, General Christopher Donoghue, boasted that he could “take down” the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad in a shock and awe operation. Then Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina urged Trump to “kick Putin’s ass”. Not to be outdone Zelensky said “if we don't stand firm Putin will advance further than Ukraine”.

The hotline between Moscow and Washington is no longer in use, the Doomsday Clock is 89 seconds to midnight, and the Hiroshima bomb which killed hundreds of thousands is a pin-prick compared with the monstrous nuclear arsenals of Russia and America. We are in danger of sleepwalking into Armageddon.

William Loneskie, Lauder, Scottish Borders

Holocaust denial

The egregious situation unfolding in Gaza is endangering global knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust.

As a long-time, proactive supporter of the rights of Palestinians to self-determination and as grandmother to two Jewish boys, I fear that Holocaust denial is likely to gather hideous momentum due to the actions of the Israeli government.

The asymmetric barrage of death inflicted on Gaza – alongside our present climate of ‘fake news’ and binary stances invoked by social media – is on course to re-shape our understanding of history in all its diabolic manifestations.

Susie Macleod, Ceres, Fife

Flawed tax

Replacements for the much-derided council tax seem to have been touted forever. A spokesman from the Jimmy Reid Foundation, put it well: “We’ve had consultations, commissions and countless commitments, but little has changed.” (Scotsman, 6 August)

And meanwhile, cash-strapped councils continue to struggle to provide much needed services, not least libraries and education. Taxation based on outdated property bands is clumsy and unfair. The trouble is that no system seems foolproof.

My own view is that a tax system based on land valuation is the least flawed option. Land is something we all share, however infinitesimally and releases our taxes from a base in either property or income.

We can only hope that after decades of consultations, commissions and countless commitments, everything will have changed, for the better.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Forbes’ exit

The valedictory praise heaped on Kate Forbes could not have been greater had politicians and journalists been writing obituaries. Certainly, Ms Forbes is a good communicator and made encouraging noises about Scotland needing to nurture private business, which generates the wealth that the financially incontinent SNP regime spends at will. However, two queries need to be addressed.

First, what did Ms Forbes actually achieve in government, beyond making soothing comments about intent? There is nothing visible to the naked eye.

Second, her words that are sensible in comparison with pretty much anything any other SNP politician says were vitiated by her clear attachment to the falsehoods that underpin what passes for SNP policy. As an example, when, a couple of years ago, Ian Blackford revived the SNP lie that HM Treasury would continue to fund pensions in an independent Scotland, Ms Forbes said that she would not presume to disagree with him. Further, she may or may not have agreed with the SNP leadership’s espousal of scientifically illiterate ‘gender’ theory, but we shall probably never know. She managed to absent herself from public discussion of that.

Perhaps that is evidence of her political astuteness, but ordinary voters can scarcely find it a credible stance for an allegedly principled politician.

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

New deputy

With Kate Forbes out of the picture, John Swinney will need to have someone else for the position of deputy leader ahead of the upcoming Holyrood election.

This person needs to have a solid track record of success. Enter Jenny Gilruth, the Education Secretary? She has decreased the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils, Nicola Sturgeon's dream. In true SNP style, this was only by a rather meagre 0.1 per cent but in SNP circles this qualifies as a huge success.

Don’t forget all talk of Kate Forbes being leadership material was originally only based upon her short-notice speech when she replaced Derek McKay after his enforced resignation. This sums the SNP up in one word: lightweight.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Darien II

Council chiefs in Edinburgh and Glasgow have no chance of meeting net zero targets by 2030 (Scotsman, 6 August), just as the SNP at Holyrood will fail to meet the 2045 goals.

It appears not a single MSP is aware that the cost to decarbonise Scottish homes increased from the Green Party estimate of £31 billion to £130bn once Humza Yousaf dispensed with the services of Patrick Harvie as a minister. That debt is about a cost of over £50,000 for every Scottish household!

In addition, the total cost of meeting Scottish net zero goals will be around £1 trillion, which indicates Holyrood plans to inflict a Darien Scheme Mk2 on every Scottish taxpayer.

Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

Bin day blunder

On Sunday night, the UK was under an amber alert due to Storm Floris, with authorities urging the public to avoid unnecessary travel as train services were expected to be disrupted.

Yet, come Monday morning – bin collection day – households were faced with a dilemma. With strong winds forecast for the afternoon, many were unsure whether to put their bins out or risk them becoming airborne hazard.

Paper waste, collected only once a month, meant most households didn’t want to miss the opportunity. Unfortunately, as predicted, the stormy winds arrived and paper bins began tipping over, sending cardboard and paper flying across streets and gardens. While such incidents aren’t frequent, they’re not unheard of either – especially in a country with decades-old waste collection practices and unpredictable weather.

What’s truly surprising is the lack of any clear guidance or contingency plans from the responsible authorities.

In an age where weather alerts are timely and accurate, surely it’s time for our waste collection services to adapt and communicate better with the public during adverse conditions.

Imran M Khan, Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire

Sign here

In the 2024 general election, I stood as an independent candidate in the new constituency of Dunfermline and Dollar. I secured 323 votes.

In good faith, I campaigned for a better Britain. In the event, Labour was gifted a parliamentary majority of 165, a totally demoralised and fragmented opposition, a lame and tame Speaker and considerable public goodwill.

Despite such favourable political circumstances, Labour has squandered a unique opportunity. They promised so much, but have delivered little. Britain is considerably worse off at every level. Labour now stands accused of a massive electoral fraud. They must be brought to book. I owe it to 323 voters in Fife therefor to fully support the Parliamentary Petition to demand a general election now.

Inevitably Starmer will remind his MP's that there are good reasons for them to protect him. He will lean on the gullible Speaker and he will brush off any petition of modest numbers.

However if the petition reaches one million signatures, even Starmer, with little or no integrity, will have to acknowledge the inevitable.

I urge every Scot to sign the petition, without hesitation.

Graham Hadley, Dunfermline, Fife

Write to The Scotsman

We welcome your thoughts – NO letters submitted elsewhere, please. Write to [email protected] including name, address and phone number – we won't print full details. Keep letters under 300 words, with no attachments, and avoid 'Letters to the Editor/Readers’ Letters' or similar in your subject line – be specific. If referring to an article, include date, page number and heading.