The accolades reflect the efforts of everyone at St Brendan’s dedication to children’s rights, wellbeing, and physical activity.

Head Teacher Maura Oates said the awards reflected the school community’s hard work and commitment to creating an inclusive and active environment.

Achieving the Gold Rights Respecting School Award means St Brendan’s has fully integrated the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into its ethos and curriculum.

“This award really reflects our journey as a school,” said Mrs. Oates. “Our students now speak confidently about their rights, and we have playground charters, class charters, and even Rover, our Rights Respecting mascot, who help us create a supportive, rights-focused environment.”

As part of their commitment to rights education, the school collaborated with Muirhouse Primary last year on the “We Are Muirhouse” project.

The initiative celebrated diversity and aimed to build understanding across cultural differences within the Muirhouse community.

Mrs. Oates noted, “Learning about the unique cultures within our community is so important for children. They’re learning to value and respect others, and they also get involved in projects that improve our area, such as our clean air campaign.”

In addition to the rights-based recognition, St Brendan’s has received the Gold SportScotland School Sport Award, highlighting the school’s dedication to physical education and student involvement in sport.

This award recognises schools that put young people at the centre of decision making in PE and sports activities.

“This is more than just an award for PE,” said Mrs. Oates. “It’s about empowering our young people to lead, to be active, and to ensure sport and physical education are truly part of our school’s fabric.

“We’re seeing children deeply engaged, not just participating but helping to plan what they want to see in school sports.”

The school has also been progressing towards Silver Reading School status, with a special focus on creating a library that invites young readers in.

With funding from the Foyle Foundation and the Scottish Book Trust, the school received over £5,000 to stock new books and an additional £500 for cosy furnishings to make the library a welcoming space.

“The children played a big role in designing our library,” Mrs. Oates explained. “They shared ideas about what would make it feel inviting, and we now have a space where every class has weekly reading time. It’s wonderful to see them excited about books and reading.”

Provost Kenneth Duffy visited the school to congratulate pupils and staff on their successes. He said: “These achievements reflect the great work of everyone at the school and the wider community.

“The children, staff, and families have all been part of this journey, and they should all be very proud of what they have achieved together. I’m sure St Brendan’s will build on these successes in the coming years, strengthening their commitment to both rights education and physical activity for all pupils.”