A GLASGOW high school has been awarded a prestigious human rights award.

St Andrew’s Secondary in the East End has achieved UNICEF UK Gold Rights Respecting Schools status.

It is the highest accolade awarded to schools which show “a deep and thorough commitment to children’s rights at all levels of school life.”

Judges said strengths of the school included the fact children understood how their rights connected to school life, values and their local and global community, and the attention paid to wellbeing, including opportunities for pupils to take the lead.

Judges described the school’s steering group, the STAR Ambassadors, as “especially impressive”, confidently explaining how they are working to “make rights real” at St Andrew’s, which has around 1850 pupils.

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John McGhee, headteacher, said: “This award is really important to us as a school.

“We have long had a motto here at St Andrew’s – ‘putting young people first’ - and that has to be more than a banner.

“It’s really important that our young people understand their voice comes first and is being heard in our school.

“Our young people are the tomorrow of our community, and they play such an important part in the development of the school and our local community. I am extremely proud of all their hard work.”

Thomas Robertson, Rights Respecting Schools co-ordinator at St Andrew’s, said: “The whole purpose behind our rights respecting journey is about equity.

“It’s all about making sure our young people have equal chances and opportunities to have their voice heard and to thrive. 

“We have carried out surveys to assess the impact of our rights respecting group and they have shown an improvement – young people feel a lot more empowered and impactful in school.

“I am really proud of our pupils and our new Gold level award.”

The award judges noted that rights have been included in the school’s improvement plan and run through policy and practice. There is a strong pupil voice at the school and an emphasis on giving back to the community – St Andrew’s has a longstanding partnership, for example, with the Wayside Club, where pupils and staff serve meals at a soup kitchen for the homeless.

Councillor Christina Cannon, Glasgow City Council’s education convenor, said: “I am thrilled that another one of our schools – St Andrew’s Secondary – has achieved its UNICEF Gold Rights Respecting Schools Award.

 “Their brilliant work has amplified pupil voice within the school, which is so important, and allows our young people to see first-hand the positive impact of using their voice. Well done everyone.”

UNICEF is a world leading organisation working for children and their rights. The Rights Respecting Schools Award is granted to schools which show commitment to promoting and realising children's rights while encouraging pupils to respect the rights of others at school and in the wider community.