INVERCLYDE Council's education director has been appointed onto the board of the country's leading orchestra.

Former music teacher Ruth Binks will now sit on the Royal Scottish National Orchestra board, using her expertise in education, community outreach and the wider Scottish fundraising environment.

Ruth Binks Ruth Binks (Image: contributed)

She has been leading Inverclyde's education department for the last six years and was head of education for three years before that.

Ruth began her career as a professional musician, playing flute and piccolo with some of the country’s most celebrated orchestras and travelling around the world.

She became a class teacher in Highland Council, teaching in primary schools from 1998 to 2004, before becoming head teacher at Croy Primary School and thenCentral Primary School until 2011.

She moved into Highland Council’s education department as a quality improvement officer from 2011 until 2012, and then became quality improvement manager until 2015, when she was appointed head of education at Inverclyde Council.