Seventeen twins set for school

A scottish local authority colloqui­ally known as “Twinverclyde” is bracing itself for the second-larg­est number of twins on record starting primary school next week.

Schools in Inverclyde will welcome 17 sets of twins next Friday.

The only other time more twins started school in the region was in 2015, when 19 sets of twins started primary school.

On Friday, the majority of the 2023 class gathered at St Patrick’s Primary School in Greenock for a dress rehears­al ahead of their first day.

Most of the youngsters were pres­ent with 15 of the 17 sets of twins in attendance. St Patrick’s, along with Ardgowan Primary, is one of two schools in Inver­clyde taking in the most pairs of twins, with three sets each joining their respective primary one classes.

The class of 2023 will take the Inverclyde twin count to 147 sets since 2013 – an average of 13 sets each year. Graeme Brooks, de­pute provost of Inver­clyde Council, said: “It has become an annual tradition in Inverclyde, or Twinverclyde as we’ve become known, to welcome our twins into primary one.

“Excitement is definitely building for the start of the new term next week and what better way to look forward to that than seeing the pu­pils here looking resplendent in their uniforms.

“It’s also a good bit of fun for par­ents too – and a handy dress rehearsal ahead of the real thing next Friday. “We’re lucky to have so many incredible schools here in Inverclyde with every one renewed or extensive­ly refurbished, including St Patrick’s which was rebuilt and opened in 2016, thanks to the council’s unprecedented quarter billion (£250,000,000) invest­ment in our schools estate.