13 new sets of twins set to start school in Inverclyde

13 sets of twins who are starting primary school in the Inverclyde area this week. Picture: PA

It means 164 sets of twins will now be taught in the Inverclyde Council region, leading some locals to believe there is “something in the water”.

The primary one twins gathered at the new £7 million St Patrick’s Primary in Greenock, the latest new-build school created under the council’s £270 million investment in its School Estate Programme.

But Arlene Cairns believes teachers will not have too much trouble telling her five-year-old twin daughters Kendal and Skye apart, who will shortly start at Ardgowan Primary in Greenock, as she says they look nothing alike.

She said: “One has red hair and one has brown hair. One has brown eyes and one has blue eyes, but there’s definitely something in the water here because last year there was even more twins.”

For the past 10 years there have been 775 registered births a year in Inverclyde, with an average of 14 sets of twins starting primary school every year.

Education chiefs said the council area is likely to be top for twins entering education in Scotland.

Councillor Jim Clocherty, education convener at Inverclyde Council, said: “That gives us a twinning rate of 18 per 1,000 births, which is well above the Scottish average of 15 per 1,000, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were among the highest in the country.”

Provost Martin Brennan said: “Every year I am surprised at the significant number of twins we have leaving nursery and heading for primary school. It seems to always run into double-figures and this year is no exception.

“I am particularly pleased, as a former teacher, to be able to welcome them as they prepare to join their new classmates in their new schools and I am sure they will have a huge amount of fun over the coming years.”