REFORM of education in England over the past decade has been dramatic and far-reaching.

The introduction of autonomous free schools and academies funded by wealthy benefactors has weakened the traditional role of education authorities.

Privatisation of the comprehensive system has also seen the power of teaching unions undermined with the increasing use of unqualified staff.

The Scottish education system has seen significant changes of its own during the same period with the difficult birth of the Curriculum for Excellence and new exams.

But the impression is that, apart from changes to what is taught in schools, the way state education is run in Scotland through council education departments has changed little.

But there are two pioneering educational initiatives at present up and running in Glasgow that, although small in scale, are threatening to break that status quo.

The first concerns billionaire Jim McColl, the chairman of Clyde Blowers Capital, who last month launched a £1.5 million vocational college for teenagers at risk of dropping out of school.

Newlands Junior College will provide a tailored vocational education to pupils aged 14 to 16 with a guarantee of an apprenticeship at the end of the two-year course.

The school represents one of the most significant moves away from mainstream state education in Scotland because of its unique blend of funding from the public and private sectors to pay for something that would otherwise be taking place at a secondary school.

Already backed by money and offers of apprenticeships from private investors, including Arnold Clark, ScottishPower and the Weir Group, Newlands will also have funding of £500,000 from the Scottish Government over the next five years and the same amount from Glasgow City Council - as long as it demonstrates pupils benefit from attending.

Mr McColl said his own experience of disengagement at school in Glasgow and the belief the education system was still not suitable for some 20 per cent of pupils had driven him to provide something different.

The second initiative of note is a unique collaboration between Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Caledonian University to teach Advanced Highers to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Under the scheme, backed by nearly £1m from the Scottish Funding Council, a range of secondary schools serving areas of deprivation will send pupils to a hub at the university where they are taught by qualified school teachers who are employed by the university. Those who do well are offered a place at the university to help widen access.

While both initiatives have been praised for their innovation they throw up difficult questions about the effectiveness of state education in Scotland.

If the Newlands Junior College and the Advanced Higher hub are both able to demonstrate they give pupils better results and improved prospects, what does that tell us about the suitability of the school environments in which they were previously educated?