Belle & Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch has taken aim at a Glasgow private school for its latest marketing drive to recruit new pupils.

Kelvinside Academy is promoting a forthcoming open day for parents with an ad that states:   "The education system is 'broken' and won't help pupils get jobs', according to 39% of the UK population".

The school, which was founded in 1878, references the findings of its own "eye-opening" research, involving 1000 Scots, which also found that 77% of parents do not believe schools are teaching skills relevant to the jobs market.

READ MORE: Scottish state schools: It's time for a shake up

The ad, on the school's social media channels, prompted an angry response from the Glasgow musician, who attended Belmont Academy in Ayr and whose children attend state schools in Glasgow.

He wrote: "Lovely 'ad' - last one out of public education turn out the lights.

"Thing, is the vast majority are stuck here, trying to make the most of it. 

The Herald:

"We love the teachers who are holding it together with blunt scissors and sellotape. You ad sticks in the throat."

Reacting to his post on social media, one person branded the ad "shameful" and a former pupil wrote: "Shocking ad from my old school".

READ MORE: Nurture principal should be the norm in Scottish education 

Another said:  "Sounds to me like @Kelvinside 1878 recognises the need for extra tax revenue to be funnelled into the state sector.

"I assume it supports taxing private school fees to pay for it? Very common-minded of them."

One person suggested the school should focus on its own achievements rather than denigrating the state education system writing: "How about promoting what's good about your school rather than pushing down the state system? Just a thought." 

The Herald:

Kelvinside Academy commissioned research, published earlier this year, which found that 38% of adults believe the education system is 'broken' while  69% said they were worried about the "ageing curriculum".

READ MORE: Scottish education: The joys of teaching in a small school 

Sophie Pender, the founder of The 93% Club, a charity and campaign group representing state-educated students, said the advert was ill-judged.

She said: “To suggest that educational segregation is the solution to the ‘broken’ schools system is tone deaf,”

“Annual fees at Kelvinside average £13,000 a year per child. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, spending this sum on school tuition is unthinkable for a majority.”

It comes amid sweeping changes planned for Scotland's education system which include scrapping exams for fourth-year students.

The blueprint, produced by Professor Louise Hayward of the University of Glasgow, has recommended that 15 and 16-year-olds will be graded on coursework as well as other areas including volunteering as part of a “Scottish diploma”.

Fifth and sixth-year students would still sit their Highers under the changes, but National four and five tests would be scrapped.

Dan Wyatt, rector of Kelvinside Academy said:   “We commissioned a nationally representative survey earlier this year to examine views on the state of education across the UK and Scotland, so we can better inform the choices we make as educators – the findings were eye-opening. 

"In the time since, the Scottish Government itself has echoed our research findings.

"Clearly, a significant proportion of parents also believe the education system as it stands needs to change, and we must all work together to improve it for the benefit of all pupils now and in the future. 

"It is not about individual schools and teachers in the public or private sector – where incredible work goes on daily – it’s about an entire system focused on outdated and ineffective methods of education that are not appropriate given what we know in the 21st Century. It does not have to be this way, we believe there should be a shift in focus to skills and practical experience, rather than knowledge retention. 

"The workplace has changed significantly with digitisation since the 1990s and the inertia we see amongst policy makers in education means our children are currently well prepared to pass exams but poorly prepared for the world of work and life in 2023. 

“The freedom we enjoy to carve our own path in the independent sector means we can make progressive choices and pilot methods that pave the way for true innovation in all forms of education.

He added: “We are doing everything we can to work with the Scottish and UK Governments to help transform education for the better."

Kelvinside Academy takes pupils from nursery to sixth form with fees for S1 fixed at around £5000 per term. 

READ MORE: Kate Forbes' 'no nonsense' comments on education were refreshing

The latest Scottish Government statistics show that 95.7% of 2021-22 state school leavers were in a positive destination three months after the end of the school year. This was higher than in 2020-21 (95.5%) and the highest since the current time series began in 2009-10. 

Compared to the previous year (2020-21) the proportion of leavers in Employment increased from 22.6% to 25.1%, the highest proportion since the current time series began in 2009-10.

The proportion of leavers in Higher Education decreased from 45.1 per cent in 2020-21 – which was the highest since 2009-10 – to 41.2 per cent in 2021-22.