Visit to our Lady's High School Cumbernauld

Abstract

As part of the Diploma course in Education (Administration and Management) we were offered the opportunity to visit a school in a foreign country. In our fifteen day visit, which took place between the 28th October and 11th November 1999, we visited Our Lady's High School in Cumbernauld. There we had the opportunity to observe the administration and management of the school, to observe aspects of teaching and learning, and to acquaint ourselves with new educational programmes being adopted in Scotland. During our stay at Our Lady's we had various interviews with members of the Senior Management Team, the Librarian, the Chaplain and various members of the staff who gave us a clear picture of the day-to-day running of the school. Thanks to Mr Archie Ferguson, a Field Officer, we also had the opportunity to visit North Lanarkshire Education Department in Coatbridge where we met several officials who explained to us the new policies that the Education Department is adopting to improve education in the region. We also attended a seminar at Glasgow University on the Scottish Qualifications on Headship. Our aim is to report on important issues we observed during our visit at Our Lady's High School. We will also make comparisons, where possible, with the Maltese situation and finally make a number of recommendations. We have both learnt a lot individually from this experience. The benefits far outweigh the personal financial burden incurred. It was a unique experience that undoubtedly will contribute to our personal enrichment.