THE new head teacher of Port Glasgow High says she is thrilled to take charge of a school with such strong community spirit.

Gillian Carroll, 40, is taking over the reins in the wake of a turnaround in its fortunes, with more pupils fulfilling their dreams of university study thanks to much-improved exam results.

Gillian has been teaching for 18 years and is a former depute head at Holyrood Secondary in Glasgow.

She told the Telegraph: "I am very excited and absolutely delighted to join Port Glasgow High.

"I did my research about the school before I applied and the school's ethos of 'success for all' resonated with me.

"I have always seen it as a duty to ensure young people fulfil their potential."

Gillian's appointment comes at a time when the school is on a high.

She takes on the mantle from Stuart Clark, who led the school for four years and is credited with a series of improvements.

Port High received a very positive inspection report and the number of pupils going straight to university has almost doubled from 20 per cent in 2016 up to 39 per cent last year.

The number of pupils achieving five highers in fifth year rose to 17 per cent last year, the first time in the school's history that this benchmark has reached double figures.

It stood at just four per cent as recently as 2017.

The number of fourth year pupils gaining five 'Nat 5s' has almost doubled from 16 per cent in 2016 to more than 30 per cent.

Gillian says she wants to build on this work - and the school's community spirit.

She said: "I believe in continuing to support the school's achievements and building on the excellent work that Stuart, his senior leadership team and the hard-working staff and pupils have carried out.

"I'm looking forward to working with some great young people.

"From what I have seen, pupils and staff here work very hard and are proud of their school and of their achievements."

Gillian is married to Robert and they have twin boys Andrew and Patrick, who are in primary two.

She specialised in biology and taught at Trinity High in Renfrew for five years.

Gillian then moved to Holyrood Secondary as principal teacher of biology, where she has spent the majority of her career.

During her 13 years there she has been depute head for a decade.

She says her new school will be different, even if only in terms of the number of pupils.

Gillian said: "Holyrood had over 2,000 pupils while Port Glasgow High has around 500.

"I am very excited about getting to know the pupils and their families.

"From visiting the school I am learning is there is a great sense of community with the young people and their families and staff.

"The school clearly has a good reputation and standing in the community.

"I am really looking forward to being part of that community."