97 days to go

I started the day at St Bartholomew's Primary in Coatbridge which is one of the Scottish Government Attainment Pathfinder schools, a programme which will expand significantly next week .

Graeme Young , the Head Teacher, is an inspirational leader and the improvements being seen are significant. His blog can be found here.

There is a tangible enthusiasm for all aspects of school life from the Prayer Club, working out of a former classroom space converted into a lovely oratory through to the award winning Gaelic Football teams. But the young pupil who told me that his "work doesn't scare me now" gave the strongest testimony to the transformational improvement agenda in place.

Then it was back to Parliament for FMQs, a too brief meeting with pupils from Tarbert Academy in my constituency, the co-chairing with John Swinney of the Strategic Forum in St Andrews House and - eventually - a meal with a group of Head teachers who have been leading CFE forward which resulted in even more positive things to think about.