A SECONDARY school in East Renfrewshire has claimed the title of the best performing state secondary in the country.

St Ninian's High School in Giffnock has topped The Herald's league tables with 47% of its pupils achieving five or more Highers this year.

In the independent sector, Dollar Academy in Clackmannanshire came top of the larger private schools, with 84% of pupils achieving the benchmark.

A former police officer falsely accused of leaving her fingerprint at a murder scene was "speechless" when forensic service bosses apologised to her for the mistake.

Tom Nelson, director of forensic services at the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA), publicly apologised to Shirley McKie and her family for the "errors that took place" and the "subsequent pain" it had caused them.

It came after a public inquiry into the affair found Ms McKie, a former detective constable with Strathclyde Police, had not made the disputed mark.

Obesity and excessive drinking are continuing to cause unacceptable levels of ill health, Scotland's chief medical officer has said.

Sir Harry Burns said action to improve the nation's health is proving effective in some areas such as smoking-related illnesses but that challenges remain in tackling poor diet and alcohol consumption.

He used his annual report to highlight that death rates from Scotland's big three killers, cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke, continue to decline.

THE Co-operative Group is to look at a massive expansion of its presence in the Scottish banking market after it was named as preferred bidder for the 632 branches that Lloyds Banking Group is being forced to sell.

Lloyds must sell the outlets by the end of 2013 to meet EU state aid regulations following its rescue by the taxpayer during the 2008 financial crisis.

If successful, the Co-op would have nearly 1,000 branches and more than 11 million customers, making it "a high street challenger to the bigger players", according to a spokesman.