GLASGOW'S schools can match the quality of private schools - that's the message from council leader Frank McAveety.

Mr McAveety spoke to the Evening Times during a tour of Clyde Campus, in Yoker, as he surveyed the progress of the latest work of the city's 4Rs programme.

January marks the start of the final year of the five-year project to rebuild or refurbish every C or D grade primary and nursery school in Glasgow.

When it concludes at the end of this year, £256million will have been spent.

The latest build under construction is Clyde Campus, which will see Garscadden and Yoker primaries merge to become Clyde Primary.

Thirlestane and Kelso nurseries will join to become Yoker Burn Nursery.

And St Brendan's Primary will complete the multi-faith new campus, which will cost nearly £22m.

Mr McAveety said: "If you're building something as good as we're seeing here today, you're sending a strong message that you value education, you value that children should have the best conditions available to make the best of themselves.

"I'm a great believer in that our schools should be in as good a condition as those who are purchasing their education.

"They spend a lot of money to get their kids a school experience that is top notch. Why can't we have the best for Glasgow kids as well?"

Over the past 15 years, Glasgow City Council has spent more than £609m on schools, building 43 new primaries and four stand-alone nurseries.

The most recently completed new build was Tower View Nursery, in Gartharmlock, which was handed over to staff on December 21 last year and will see pupils move in this month.

Rowena Nursery, in Knightswood, had its official opening in July last year and Dalmarnock Nursery will be handed over in May this year.

Gowanbank and Broomhill primary schools are both underway with work around 50 per cent completed.

The construction of Dalmarnock, Blairdardie and Carntyne primaries will start in the summer while a consultation is currently underway regarding a new school for the north of the city.

Mr McAveety said his hope is that parents will continue to choose schools in Glasgow, rather than going over the border to East Renfrewshire or East Dunbartonshire.

He added: "We have demonstrated that when we have invested in the schools and getting the schools in the best places that make sure they are attractive, families will make the choice positively for education in Glasgow.

"And we have already demonstrated that in parts of the city that border on other local authorities.

"That will always be a challenge for Glasgow but I think if we're saying, 'Look, we're putting money into our primary and secondary schools, we are also going to work with teaching staff to improve the quality of education,' that will make a difference."

Mr McAveety added: "In the east of the city, if you had said 20 years ago you could merge what were formerly St Leonard's, St Gregory's and St Andrew's schools and you could have a cohesive school that's going to be top in its HMIe [inspection report] with a uniform and there's going to be a real leadership, they would have been saying, 'let's go for a wee walk'.

"There's been a transformation and St Andrew's is now a school that's taking placing requests, doing really well at HMIe and is now a school that parents know is really benefiting their kids."

During the tour of the two-storey St Brendan's and three-storey Clyde Primary, Mr McAveety stopped to chat to workers, telling one he was an electrician working in Shettleston Borough Hall in 1978.

Martin Bredin, project manager at Clyde Campus, and Michael Cunningham, construction manager, showed Mr McAveety round.

Mr Cunningham said: "I have been involved in a few of these new builds and they just get bigger and better as they go on."

Care is made to ensure Glasgow's new primaries and nurseries are environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

At Clyde Campus, as with other new builds, much of the fitted furniture, such as kitchen units, has been made by members of the Royal Strathclyde Blindcraft Industries (RSBi).

The site also attracted outside attention with the BBC filming scenes for new drama The Replacement - featuring Dougray Scott - in the buildings last year.

Mr McAveety said: "What we are doing in Glasgow is having a combination of good investment in schools and making sure we have effective leadership in schools.

"We have a good primary sector and have made improvements in the secondary sector.

"In my experience when I was a teacher, if you had a good school building and good school leadership, teachers respond to that and kids benefit from that.

"It used to annoy me as a teacher that people would make assumptions about the quality of teaching in Glasgow and the fact of what the schools were like.

"Having taught in some of the most challenging parts of Glasgow, there are great teachers in Glasgow who want to make sure these kids get the best chance."