WELCOME to the club. A further six secondaries are to join the Scottish Executive's Schools of Ambition project, bringing the total in the first phase to 26, exceeding the target of 20. Of the schools taking part, nine are in Glasgow. These represent nearly one-third of the total. The high proportion should not be a surprise as the project is aimed at raising standards in comprehensives mainly in disadvantaged areas. These are mostly in Glasgow.

Although the six new members of the club have not been identified, it is safe to assume they will not be among the city's top-performing schools. A clue to their location is provided by Sir Tom Hunter, the philanthropist who is investing GBP600,000 in the project. His foundation would like his funding to help those young people who hit a dead end when they leave school. Glasgow has the highest proportion in Scotland of 16 to 19-year-olds who are not learning, working or training. The outlook for these teenagers can be grim when they reach 21. They are much more likely to have a criminal record and mental health problems.

Making school a springboard for a better life would bear dividends not only for the young people involved but society generally. Becoming a school of ambition guarantees GBP100,000 in funding a year from the executive for a limited, though undefined period. When Hunter Foundation cash is added, there is a clear incentive to bid for the status. Funding is provided in return for schools guaranteeing to improve examination results, discipline and attendance. They must identify at least one area (sport or vocational studies, for instance) that will mark them out as distinctive. They decide how they wish to invest the funding, taking account of targets set (in Glasgow's case, the Hunter Foundation wish-list seems to make these clear). But schools must also demonstrate that their chosen investments are sustainable.

There would be limited point, or value, in the scheme if worthwhile initiatives ceased when funding dried up. Furnishing teenagers with appropriate, relevant qualifications and skills to avoid a dead-end in favour of a job, training or more learning is a responsibility that does not stop when one year group leaves school. It is a long-term commitment that must continue until the vicious cycle of no hope, no achievement, drug-taking and criminality afflicting generation after generation is broken. The rewards are potentially great.

According to a London School of Economics report last year, children born to poor families in Britain are less likely to fulfil their potential than in comparable countries, in large part because those from deprived backgrounds attend the poorest-performing schools and are less likely to go on to higher education. Schools of ambition could open a door at present locked, especially if the group set up this week to advise the executive on tackling Sir Tom's target group, chaired by Sir Robert Smith, dovetails with the Schools of Ambition project. Ensuring that happens must be a priority. The club has, at present, few members. The aim must be to make every school a school of ambition, regardless of its circumstances or problems.