Back in the summer, we promised to do education differently; to look beyond the statistics, to tell the bigger stories, as well as the smaller ones. To be critical and also to celebrate.
We have worked hard to deliver on our promise, offering a comprehensive look at the state of Scottish education, being first on the big issues, and passionate, considered and informed with our analysis. We knew we had not got our coverage quite right before.
And we have listened – to our readers, to teachers, to learners, to experts – responding to what they believe the media should be covering and shouting about to influence change, while crucially also celebrating all the good in our education system.
Read more: We need to change the conversation on education - let's do it differently
I am delighted today to announce that education journalist Garrett Stell is joining our team so we can deliver even more on our commitment.
Stell is an experienced education specialist, most recently having worked in the Highlands.
Originally from the US, he also offers a perspective on Scotland’s education system which I am confident will be of immense interest to our readers and benefit to The Herald.
He is a first-rate appointment and I am excited about him coming on board.
Stell did some occasional writing for us during the latter half of last year, but I am pleased to have him now officially join the team, working alongside our education writer, and former teacher, James McEnaney.
Together, with their expertise and passion to steer change by applying pressure where it needs to be, I am confident in what they can achieve. The Herald is committed to Scottish education and to leading the conversations that matter.
Thank you for your continued support.
Catherine Salmond, Editor
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here