St John Ogilvie High School leading on excellence

Published: Friday 19 June 2026

This images shows pupils from St John Ogilvie High School outside the school holding up letters which spell out the work excellent following a very impressive HMI report

An Education Scotland report has highlighted the outstanding leadership at St John Ogilvie High School.

Following a visit from a team of inspectors, the report stated that the pupils were excellent ambassadors for their Hamilton school and were very respectful, keen to learn and demonstrated the school values very well.

And the report also highlighted the outstanding and inspiring leadership of the headteacher, with great support from her depute headteachers, relentlessly delivering improvements to further all young people’s outcomes.

Head teacher Lorna Lawson said: “We are absolutely delighted with this report, which reflects the hard work, dedication, shared vision and values of our entire school community.

“Our young people are at the heart of everything that we do.

“It is fantastic to see their efforts, enthusiasm and pride in St John Ogilvie High School formally recognised by the inspectors.

“This success was made possible by the commitment of our staff and the invaluable support from our parents and carers which will allow us to continue to build on this great report and help us deliver the very best outcomes for every single one of our young people.”

The inspection team also noted that the staff all work effectively together, ensuring all pupils succeed, regardless of any potential barriers to their learning.

This image shows pupils from St John Ogilvie High School in the library with head teacher Lorna Lawson

Lyndsay McRoberts, the council’s Executive Director of Education, said: “This report really is sector leading and will be one of the best across Scotland.

“It highlights the extremely hard work of Lorna Lawson and her dedicated team.

“Her leadership skills are reflected by the inspectors who also highlighted the respect and pride that the pupils clearly have for their school.

“The ethos and work ethic of the school clearly ensures that St John Ogilvie delivers the very best for all its pupils.”

The report also made the following evaluations:

  • Evaluation Leadership of change - excellent
  • Learning, teaching and assessment - very good
  • Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion - very good
  • Raising attainment and achievement - very good