The nervous wait is finally over today (Tuesday 7 August) as 8,000 pupils across Edinburgh receive their exam results. Early indications are very positive with candidates from City of Edinburgh Council schools once again making improvements on their performances in most areas from last year.
A total of 40,396 resulted awards were certificated for 7,927 candidates (includes special schools, adults and mainstream secondary pupils) in over 83 subjects.
A particular strength continues to be results by pupils at the end of S5 and S6 where the strong levels of attainment have either been maintained or improved at all levels.
Highlights include:
- By the end of S6, 35% of the S4 roll achieved 5 or more Highers – a 2 percentage point increase on the previous year and a 5 percentage point improvement since 2013.
- By the end of S5, 41% of the S4 roll achieved 3 or more Highers – a 3 percentage point improvement on last year and a 9 percentage point improvement since 2013.
- By the end of S5, 22% of the S4 roll achieved 5 or more Highers – a 3 percentage point improvement on last year and a 6 percentage point improvement since 2013.
The number of pupils attaining five or more A-C passes at National 5 dropped by 3 percentage points to 41% but still represents a 3 percent increase compared to 2014. The assessment arrangements were different from the previous year so comparisons are difficult to make.
Gracemount High School head girl, Sarah Hutton, achieved 3 As in her Advanced Highers of Chemistry, Biology and History. She is now going to study medicine at Edinburgh University.
Sarah, 17 years, said: “I was really nervous waiting for the text to come through which is how I feel every year but just delighted to see that I passed. I feel my revision went well and want to thank the staff at Gracemount High School who put on after school study sessions and helped with revision – I’m going to go in and thank them all when I get back from my holidays.
“I’m now going to go to Edinburgh University to study medicine. I might go down the surgery route but it’s a six year course so there’s plenty of time to change my mind!”
Councillor Ian Perry, Education Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, welcomed today’s results: “Initial indications show that 2018 has been another really positive year for our pupils, with performance rising in several key areas especially those relating to results achieved by pupils at the end of S5 and S6.
“By the end of S5, 41% of the S4 roll achieved three or more Highers which is a three percentage point improvement on last year and a nine percentage point improvement since 2013. And although the number of pupils getting 5 passes at National 5 did drop it was still up compared to 2014.”
Councillor Alison Dickie, Education Vice Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I want to congratulate all our pupils who sat exams this year, and the dedicated teachers and staff who have been working extremely hard to prepare them. Our pupils should be very proud of themselves for all their hard work, and praise should also go to parents who have supported their children over the past year.
“There are many different opportunities ahead for our young people and one of our key aims is to make sure all our school leavers enter a positive destination of employment, training or further education. Initiatives such as the Edinburgh Guarantee are going a long way to making this a reality for many of our former pupils and we will be looking to build on this in the future. I look forward to seeing many more placements and positive results.”
Additional information:
1) This is provisional information at this early stage with no national or comparator information available. It is pre-appeal and does not include attainment gained by school/partnership activities.
2) Analysis
Results by end of S6*
1+ award at level 6 or better – 66% (the same as last year’s improvement).
3+ awards at level 6 or better – 47% (the same as last year’s improvement).
5+ awards at level 6 or better – 35% (2 percentage points more than the previous year, continuing a five year improving trend).
1+ award at level 7 – 26% (2 percentage points more than last year).
*based on the percentage of S4 pupil roll.
Results by end of S5*
1+ award at level 6 or better – 60% (1 percentage point more than the previous year, continuing a five year improving trend).
3+ awards at level 6 or better – 41% (3 percentage points more than the previous year, continuing a five year improving trend).
5+ awards at level 6 or better – 22% (3 percentage points more than the previous year, continuing a five year improving trend).
Results by end of S4
5+ awards at level 5 or better – 41% (3 percentage points less than last year, but a 3 percentage point improvement year on 2014).
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