PUPILS from ethnic minority backgrounds out-perform white Glasgow youngsters in exams.

A report shows Indian, Chinese, Pakistani and African pupils get better results in fourth and fifth year than white UK-born pupils.

However, these city pupils catch up and overtake most ethnic minority youngsters by the time they get to sixth year.

In fourth year, 97.4% of Indian pupils got five Standard Grades at level three or above compared to 94.7% mixed race, 91.3% of Chinese, 89.4% of Pakistani, 83.7% of African and 83.2% of white pupils.

In fifth year, 61.9% of Chinese teenagers got one of more award at level six or above compared to 41% of Indian, 38.7% of African, 34.6% of Pakistani and 29.8% of white pupils.

But by sixth year, only Chinese pupils out-performed white youngsters.

City council executive member for education Gordon Matheson believes people who quit their birth countries to come to Glasgow are often very determined to succeed in their new lives and this affects their children.

He said: "The strength of character needed to face the challenge of moving to a new country can permeate through to the ambitions of the children.

"There are cultural variations in terms of the attitude towards educational attainment.

"There are also stages where girls do better in school than boys so the education system is dealing with complex social and cultural differences.

"Our challenge in Glasgow is to take the best bits from our increasingly multi-cultural society so all our young people achieve the very best they can."

Pat Chalmers, convener of the city council's education and social work scrutiny committee, said: "Children who come here as asylum seekers or incomers tend to come from families with ambition."

Last month the Evening Times told how asylum seeker Talut Ahmad, 17, from Pakistan, gained four As and a B in his Highers while at the city's Castlemilk High.

He is now studying at Strathclyde University.