Highest number of enrolments from most deprived areas
The proportion of full-time degree entrants coming from Scotland’s most deprived areas has increased to the highest level on record.
Newly published Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) figures for 2024-25 show 17.4% of entrants came from the 20% most deprived areas – up from 16.7% the previous year. This is the highest proportion recorded, and shows progress towards the Commission on Widening Access’s target that one in five students entering university will come from the 20% most deprived areas by 2030.
The report also shows a 3.1% decrease in total university enrolments on the previous year, including a 2.7% reduction in Scottish domiciled students and a 22% reduction in students from the European Union.
Minister for Higher and Further Education Ben Macpherson said: “These figures show remarkable progress in widening access to university, and towards ensuring that, if they want to, everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential and study for a degree at a Scottish university, regardless of their background.
“The Scottish Government has a mission to eradicate poverty, and enabling people to take advantage of education and training opportunities – regardless of their personal circumstances – is a key part of that work, whether that’s enabling people to go to university, or college, or undertake an apprenticeship.
“More widely, to ensure the long-term sustainability of the country’s universities, the Scottish Government is working pro-actively, including creating a new Framework for Sustainability and Success of Scotland’s Universities – an important collaborative partnership with the sector and key stakeholders to explore solutions.
“Of course, we are also conscious of the issues around declining international student numbers, brought about through nonsensical UK Government immigration policies. To try to mitigate this, we have proposed a Scottish Graduate Visa as an idea that the UK Government could implement, to encourage more international students to study in Scotland by enabling them to stay in Scotland after graduation.”
Pupils impacted by poverty will receive further support to succeed in their studies through a continued £43 million investment this year.
The Scottish Government funding will be distributed to local councils for strategic approaches to closing the poverty-related attainment gap. This will provide support to schools through the recruitment of additional teachers, support staff and family link workers, as well as enhanced professional learning for teachers and school leaders.
The funding is part of the £1.75 billion Scottish Attainment Challenge which has been running for the past decade and forms a key part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensure every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential, regardless of background.
The funding announcement coincides with a newly-published report highlighting how the Scottish Government’s work to close the poverty-related attainment gap is having a positive impact on children and young people’s education and overall wellbeing.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced the funding at the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) conference today.
Ms Gilruth said: “Closing the poverty-related attainment gap is a vital part in our commitment to eradicate child poverty at Scotland. When more children are given a chance to succeed through education, the more we accelerate our progress in reaching this goal.
“The report published today demonstrates how our ongoing investment continues to deliver for Scotland’s schools – it demonstrates that pupils are going to school feeling confident and enjoying their studies. That has been achieved by empowering headteachers to deliver bespoke solutions that meet children and young people’s needs.
“The latest exam data also shows us that this is translating into results, with the deprivation gap narrowing at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level over the past year. It is important that we continue to build on this progress, and the funding announced today will do exactly that.”
PENTLANDS MSP CONGRATULATES STUDENTS RECEIVING EXAM RESULTS
SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald has congratulated pupils across Edinburgh as they received their exam results.
This year’s results show a strong rise in attainment across Scotland’s schools and colleges, including for young people in the city.
More than 147,000 learners across the country received their results, with rates increasing at National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher levels compared to 2024 and pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The results also confirm that the poverty related attainment gap continues to narrow across all levels, demonstrating the SNP Government’s commitment to ensuring every young person can succeed, no matter their background.
Notably, a record 110,380 young people achieved vocational and technical awards in subjects such as construction, business, and hospitality, up over 22% on last year.
The SNP Government has committed to continuing its work to close the attainment gap and invest in a world-class education system that supports all learners, no matter their path.
Commenting, Gordon Macdonald MSP said: “Yesterday’s results are a huge achievement for the young people of Edinburgh and across Scotland, and a testament to the hard work of students, teachers, parents, and carers. Congratulations.
“I’m particularly encouraged to see the attainment gap continuing to close. It’s clear that SNP investment in education, from early years through to school and beyond, is delivering for our communities.
“The growth in vocational qualifications is especially welcome. It shows that our young people are gaining real skills for work and life, supported by a modern, inclusive curriculum that offers pathways for everyone, not just the traditional academic route.
“There’s more to do, but this year’s results prove that the SNP is making progress where it matters – in classrooms, colleges, and communities. I couldn’t be prouder of what our learners are achieving across the city.”
Pupils and staff at Braes High School in Falkirk have been highlighting their innovate approaches to help cut the cost of the school day for families, as part of Challenge Poverty Week.
Cost-saving initiatives include the creation of ‘Take What You Need’ trolleys with essential school items, toiletries and snacks. S1 pupils also receive a Braes Backpack which contains a school starter kit.
The school has received more than £369,000 of Scottish Government Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) in recent years, supporting a range of work including these latest initiatives.
Scotland has the most generous universal free school meal offer of any nation in the UK – saving families an average of £400 per eligible child per year – while the School Clothing Grant has been increased so that those who are eligible receive at least £120 per child of primary school age and £150 per secondary pupil.
The 2023-24 Programme for Government set out commitments to further support reductions in the cost of the school day by funding the removal of core curriculum charges, further expanding free school meals and increasing the school clothing grant for the next academic year.
On a visit to the school, the Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “It was hugely encouraging to visit Braes High School during Challenge Poverty Week and to witness the innovative approaches pupils and staff have adopted to deal with the challenges that, sadly, too many of our young people and their families are facing.
“This work has been supported by the Scottish Government’s Pupil Equity Funding scheme – with more than £520 million this parliamentary term empowering headteachers to take creative and innovative approaches to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap.
“We are determined to do everything in our power to support families out of poverty, including investing in the game-changing Scottish Child Payment – part of a package of measures taken by this government which will help lift 90,000 children out of poverty in Scotland this year.
“We know that many families are still struggling, particularly as a result of the cost of living crisis. Tackling the cost of the school day is a key priority for the Scottish Government.”
Sara Spencer, Cost of the School Day Project Manager at Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland: “We have been delighted to work with Braes High School and their Cost of the School Day Pupil Group and see all of the meaningful ways young people have involved their school community and designed supports that help to make sure everyone can take part and feel included.
“Cost of the School Day at Braes is an inspiring example of what can happen when young people take the lead on equity in their own schools and a reminder of the impact that a poverty aware school culture and a clear focus on reducing the cost of the school day can have.”
Braes HS Head teacher Iain Livingstone said: “Our young people, staff, parents, carers and the wider community work well together to challenge poverty and support all learners. Pupil Equity Funding has helped us take forward a number of projects and support to help our young people get the most out of their education.
“We enjoyed being able to speak with the Cabinet Secretary, and seeing our young people discuss the many developments and ideas they lead.”
Braes High School worked with the Child Poverty Action Group to develop these initiatives. They are part of the new Cost of the School Day Voice network of children and young people.
Schools in Falkirk Council have received more than £26 million from the Scottish Government between 2015-16 and 2022-23 to close the poverty related attainment gap.
Primary school literacy and numeracy improvement reaches new high
The poverty-related attainment gaps in literacy and numeracy levels across primary schools have seen the biggest decreases since records began, official statistics show.
The gap between the proportion of primary pupils from the most and least-deprived areas achieving expected levels has narrowed by 3.4 percentage points in literacy and 3.7 percentage points in numeracy, according to the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) 2021/22. This marks the largest narrowing of the gap in a year since consistent records began in 2016/17.
There has also been a record increase in the proportion of primary school pupils achieving the expected levels of literacy (up 3.7 percentage points to 70.5%) and numeracy (up 3.3 percentage points to 77.9%).
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “These figures demonstrate a real recovery from the pandemic and underline our progress towards tackling the poverty-related attainment gap, and achieving excellence for all of Scotland’s children and young people.
“This record improvement over one year for primary pupils achieving the expected levels in numeracy and literacy also shows more young people are getting the support they need to reach their full potential.
“However, there is no room for complacency. I recognise that attainment levels are still largely below pre-pandemic levels and the publication of local stretch aims by local councils last week sets out clear plans to significantly narrow the poverty-related attainment gap in the years ahead.
“We know that the impact of the pandemic – compounded by the current cost of living crisis – means children and young people need our support now more than ever. We are determined to do all we can to ensure they can reach their full potential, including a record investment of £1billion over this parliamentary term in the Scottish Attainment Challenge.”
Teachers of the Deaf numbers in Scotland have fallen by 40% in a decade The fall in numbers is twice that of other parts of the UK
Almost half (45%) are due to retire in the next 10 years
Deaf young people in Scotland are twice as likely as their hearing classmates to leave school with no qualifications and half as likely to go on to university
Thousands of deaf children across Scotland are not getting the support they need in school after a 40% fall in the number of specialist support teachers for deaf children over the last decade, the National Deaf Children’s Society is warning.
A new report published by the Consortium for Research into Deaf Education (CRIDE), also shows that Teachers of the Deaf numbers in Scotland have fallen at twice the rate compared to other parts of the UK. In addition, around 45% of Teachers of the Deaf in Scotland plan to retire over the next 10 years – so unless action is taken urgently things will only get worse.
Teachers of the Deaf play a vital role in supporting the language and communication development of deaf children. They give advice to families of newly identified deaf children, visit deaf children at school or college – to give them any extra help they need – and provide guidance to mainstream teachers and schools on deaf awareness and inclusion.
However, as the number of fully qualified Teachers of the Deaf in Scotland has fallen, increasing numbers of deaf children are missing out on this support.
Families of deaf children have told the National Deaf Children’s Society that in some areas their local Teachers of the Deaf have too big a caseload to work with deaf learners on a one-to-one basis.
The charity is calling on local authorities across Scotland to commit to returning qualified Teacher of the Deaf numbers to 2011 levels over the next decade.
The National Deaf Children’s Society also wants the Scottish Government to develop and deliver a Scotland-wide workforce strategy for Teachers of the Deaf, and to ensure they are properly paid for the extra responsibilities they take on, in recognition that their specialist expertise is valued.
Such a workforce strategy will involve fully funded places being available for teachers wanting to study for the mandatory qualifications, so a new generation of Teachers of the Deaf can be trained to replace those who are leaving.
Without this, the charity warns deaf children will continue to fall behind and the gap between them and their hearing classmates’ risks becoming wider.
Gemma, from Fife, whose 13-year-old daughter Megan is deaf, described her Teacher of the Deaf asan “absolute necessity” who quickly solves any issues.
She said: “We are a hearing family and although my daughter’s hearing needs are not as big as other young people’s, the Teacher of the Deaf has helped validate my daughter’s past experiences, educate myself on my daughter’s needs and empower her to be confident in the school.”
Mark Ballard, Head of Policy and Influencing for Scotland with the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “Every deaf child in Scotland should, as a fundamental right, be able to get the support they need from a fully qualified Teacher of the Deaf to help them reach their full potential. We are very concerned that these new figures show a 40% fall in the numbers of qualified Teachers of the Deaf in Scotland, twice the decline in other parts of the UK.
“With the right support in place, deaf children can achieve anything their peers can, but sadly, this simply isn’t happening. The latest Scottish Government statistics show they’re twice as likely to leave school with no qualifications and half as likely to go to university.
“That’s why we want to see a commitment from local authorities and the Scottish Government to work together to return the number of fully qualified Teachers of the Deaf employed across Scotland to the 2011 level, over the next ten years.”
Mr Ballard pointed out that a lack of funding means many teachers in Scotland who want to become a qualified Teacher of the Deaf must often cover the costs themselves.
He added: “There are great courses available to give teachers the extra skills and knowledge they need to become qualified Teachers of the Deaf, but we must make sure the funding and incentives are in place to support teachers to undertake the training.”
Scotland’s councils set out ambitions to help young people succeed
Local authorities have published their plans for closing the poverty-related attainment gap.
Councils across Scotland have set their own “stretch aims” for children and young peoples’ progress in literacy and numeracy levels, for senior phase qualifications achieved, as well as for the number of young people participating in education, training, or employment.
For both overall attainment and in terms of closing the poverty-related attainment gap in literacy and numeracy, the collective stretch aims of local authorities demonstrate ambitions to work towards achieving the biggest two-year improvement recorded since the introduction of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.
This work will be supported by the Scottish Government’s £1 billion Scottish Attainment Challenge, with £43 million in Strategic Equity Funding allocated to local authorities this year. In total more than £130 million has been distributed to schools so far this year to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We are committed to substantially eliminating the poverty-related attainment gap and councils have a crucial role in driving this national mission forward at a local level.
“Given the effect of COVID-19 on children and young peoples’ achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels in 2020/21, these collective aims represent significant local ambition for recovery back to and beyond the national position pre-pandemic, aiming to narrow the poverty related attainment gap by over seven percentage points in both primary school literacy and numeracy compared to 2020/21.
“These will drive an enhanced focus on outcomes for children and young people, ensuring they have the opportunities and support they need to reach their full potential.”
The number of 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas being offered a place at university is at a record high – up 32% since 2019, the last year there were exams.
The latest UCAS data also shows 29,630 Scottish domiciled students have been offered a place at a Scottish university on SQA results day – up 6% compared to 2019 and the second highest on record.
The number of students accepting places to study nursing at Scottish providers also increased, up 17% to 2,940 compared to 2019.
Separate statistics published yesterday by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) show that in the first quarter of 2022-2023, the number of Modern Apprenticeship starts is up 16% to 3,946 compared to last year.
Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, Youth Employment and Training Jamie Hepburn said: “Congratulations to everyone receiving results today after what has been another extremely challenging year. Whether you are now heading to university, college or taking part in a Modern Apprenticeship, I wish you the very best for the future.
“These statistics are encouraging, particularly the fact we have a record number of 18-year-olds – the closest measure to school leavers – from the most deprived areas being offered a place at university. We want every young person in Scotland to have an equal chance of success, no matter their background or circumstances.
“The number of students accepting places to study nursing has also increased compared to 2019, demonstrating that Scotland continues to be a popular location to undertake medical education and training.
“EU students enrich our campuses, and make a vital contribution to our economy and society. It is bitterly disappointing to see another sharp drop in the number of EU students coming to study in Scotland – a direct result of Brexit.
“The SQA’s appeals process is now open for anyone who needs it. The clearing process is also now live and places are still available for those who want to study in Scotland.”
Scottish domiciled acceptances to Scottish providers increased by 6% to 29,630 (since 2019) This is the second highest at SQA results day. In 2021 there was a record 31,070 Scottish domiciled acceptances to Scottish providers
the number of 18-year-old acceptances from the most deprived areas has increased by 410 to 1,680, since 2019 (as at SQA results day)
the number of EU domiciled acceptances to Scottish providers decreased by 77% to 720 (as at SQA results day 2019)
the number of Non-EU domiciled acceptances to Scottish providers increased by 15% to 2,670 (since 2019) This is the second highest at SQA results day
Scottish domiciled acceptances to study nursing at Scottish providers increased by 17% to 2,940, since 2019 cycle (as at SQA results day)
Scottish domiciled acceptances to study medicine and dentistry at UK providers increased by 23% to 920, since 2019 (as at SQA results day)
Almost nine out of 10 (87%) headteachers in Scotland say improvements have been made in closing the poverty-related attainment gap despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 Headteacher Survey, published yesterday, also finds that 94% expect to see improvements over the next few years as a result of Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) supported approaches.
An evaluation report on year 6 (2020-21) of the ASF, also published today, indicates there has been positive progress towards closing the poverty related attainment gap despite the challenges presented by the pandemic. Challenges included staff and pupil absence and the ability to deliver some initiatives.
Education Secretary Shirley Anne Somerville said: “It’s encouraging that our headteachers are continuing to report progress towards tackling the poverty-related attainment gap, despite the impact of the pandemic.
“We know the disruption caused by COVID-19 has presented serious challenges for learning and teaching in Scotland, as it has around the world. But the response of schools and local authorities in adapting to this, supported by Attainment Scotland Funding, has been a testament to the resilience of Scottish education.
“Progress was being made in tackling the poverty-related attainment gap before the pandemic and we now need to increase the speed and scale of this.
“That is why one of our top priorities is to accelerate both recovery and progress in tackling the poverty-related attainment gap, supported by a record £1 billion investment in the Scottish Attainment Challenge over the course of this Parliament.”
The Headteacher survey 2021 found 87% reported seeing an improvement in closing the poverty-related attainment gap.
Scotland’s headteachers will receive more than half a billion pounds of secured funding over the next four years to help close the attainment gap.
Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) totalling £520 million will be distributed to schools in every council area to help headteachers put in place more support for children and young people.
Edinburgh’s share of PEF is over £7.86 million.
The funding has been confirmed for multiple years to provide more certainty for headteachers and allow for longer-term planning.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Tackling the poverty-related attainment gap and giving every young person the chance to fulfil their full potential remains our priority, and we are investing an increased £1 billion through schools and local authorities over the course of this Parliament to support this ambition.
“Our headteachers and teachers know their pupils best and have told us that our measures are working. We are determined to ensure they are empowered to take the approaches that are right for the children and young people in their schools to help improve attainment.
“Our allocation of more than £520 million of PEF for the next four years will give headteachers the confidence and security they need to plan long term. However, we know schools can’t do this alone, and headteachers should work in partnership with each other, Education Scotland and their local authority, to agree the use of the funding.”
St Francis Primary School headteacher Margot MacAlister said: “Pupil Equity Funding has been key in allowing me to deliver my vision for the community I serve. From the beginning it has provided me with stability in terms of funding posts previously reliant on my devolved budget.
“This has allowed me to build purposeful and trusting working relationships with partners over time that bring a great richness to a child’s learning experience.
“Our nurture programme and now our EXCEL programme has become embed in the culture and ethos of the school and addresses the whole child now and in the future.”
