LETTERS
Former first minister Alex Salmond waving as he leaves after giving evidence to a Scottish Parliament Harassment committee which is examining the handling of harassment allegations him, at Holyrood in Edinburgh. Picture date: Friday February 26, 2021. PA MY first taste of Scottish, left-wing politics occurred in the late 1960s, on a bus travelling down to a major demonstration in London. We were as mixed a delight as any sweetie shop of the time could offer. Somewhere on the M1 a fracas erupted in the rear of the bus. Whether it was over some point of ideology or a stray Maoist had made some indecent proposal to one of the Marxist-Leninist shop workers, we’ll never know.
Less than three quarters of pupils were in secondary school classes the week before Christmas as the number of students in state schools across England plummeted, official figures show.
Seventy-two per cent were in secondary school classes on December 16, down from 80 per cent the week before, according to the Department for Education.
Attendance in primary schools dropped from 89 per cent to 86 per cent over the same end of term period.
Between nine per cent and 11 per cent of pupils - up to 872,000 children - did not attend school for Covid-19 related reasons on December 16.
The number of pupils in schools plummeted to their lowest levels in London, dropping to 67 per cent from 80 per cent on December 10.
How Simple Minds started out gigging in a Toryglen school hall.
Jim Kerr s mum had to help them get a gig!
Jim Kerr of Simple Minds performs on stage at Orpheum in Vancouver, Canada, in October 2018 (Image: Getty Images)
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They became one of Scotland’s biggest ever rock bands – but when Simple Minds started out they couldn’t even get a gig in a Toryglen school hall.