Tag: attainment

Edinburgh learners receive exam results with improvement in almost all key measures

Levels of attainment for learners across the city have improved from last year across almost all key measures

There has been a significant improvement in the number of young people in S5 achieving three or more Higher qualifications at grade C or above and the proportion of S5 students achieving both three or more and five or more awards at SCQF Level 6 across Edinburgh. 

The results also demonstrate improvement in almost all S4, S5 and S6 measures compared to 2019 (pre pandemic) and 2024 and 2025.

Over 11,226 candidates in Edinburgh received their results from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) today (Tuesday 4 August) across 164 subjects.

A total of 59,459 awards were handed out for subjects including web design, carpentry, accounting, sport science and beauty.

National 5s saw passes (A-C grades) of 80.9%, a 0.9% increase on 2025 figures, and Highers saw passes of 78.5%, an increase of 1.9% on last year.

Education, Children and Families Convener, Councillor James Dalgleish said: It has been amazing to see attainment increase in almost all key measures for Edinburgh students.

“There is a huge range of qualifications and awards achieved by our learners in 165 subjects, representing the hard work, effort and commitment of learners, teachers and school staff. Each and every one of our young people’s journeys and achievements are unique to them and today’s results mark the next step in their journey, whether that’s to college, university, an apprenticeship or into the world of work.

“We want to provide inclusive and relevant curriculum pathways into further or higher education and to the workplace for every single learner in all of our schools.  There is much to celebrate and be proud of in this year’s set of results and my thanks go to all those who have supported our learners to this point including school staff, parents and carers.”

Moustafa Watti (17), a former pupil at Broughton High School achieved three As in Advanced Highers in maths, biology and chemistry today. He is going to study medicine at the University of St Andrews next month.

He said: “I signed up for the results to be sent by text and knew they would be sent from 8am. I received my text results at 8.06am – that felt like a long six minutes!

“I was delighted to get three As, I didn’t think I would even get one A so I was shocked. I only needed two Bs to get into university so I am over the moon with my results and my parents are delighted.”

Bibi Coane (15) is going into S5 at Broughton High School. She got six Nat 5s at A and one Higher A in music today. She is part of the City of Edinburgh Music School, based at Broughton, allowing musically talented pupils to do their music exams early.

Bibi said: “I am really happy with my results, I expected As but there is always a little doubt.

“Next year I am doing Advanced Higher Music a year early as I am part of the music school, as well as four Highers. The music school is amazing, I get one on one lessons and it’s allowed my cello and piano to come on really quickly. I might study music at university, but I also love history and might study that.”

Lennon Watts (16) and Dan McCandless (16) are going into S5 at Broughton High School and are part of the Scottish FA Performance School based at the school. Lennon achieved six Nat 5s at A and B level and is going on to play full time with Celtic under 19s squad. He will come to school one day a week to study two Highers.

Lennon said: “I am really happy with my results, we do one less Nat 5 because we do seven periods of football a week. Next year will be tough to manage the football and my Highers but I want to get them so I can keep my options open. I plan to do another two Highers in S6, again coming in one day a week.

Dan got six Nat 5s at A and is going to play with Hearts under 17 squad next year while also doing school full time.

Dan said: I am happy with my results and I am going to do four Highers next year. It is difficult to juggle school and football, I’ll be at school every day then go straight to training and be there until about 8pm but I want to get my Highers so I have something if football doesn’t work out.

“The football school at Broughton has been great, it’s a lot of extra training, and they are flexible when you have games or extra training with your team.”

Primary Schools: Attainment at a record high, says Curriculum for Excellence report

Latest statistics show widespread improvement

The proportions of pupils in primary achieving expected levels of literacy and numeracy have reached record highs for children from both the most and least deprived areas, according to official statistics.

Overall, the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) 2022/23 show:

  • for numeracy, a total of 79.6% of pupils reached the levels expected in 2022/23, a rise of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous high (79.1% in 2018/19).
  • for literacy a rise to 72.7%, up on the previous high of 72.3% in 2018/19

The gap between the proportion of primary pupils from the most and least deprived areas achieving expected levels in literacy has also decreased to the lowest on record in 2022/23.

The figures also show improvements at secondary level compared to 2021/22, with increases in attainment across the board and the gap between those from most and least deprived areas has reduced.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “These figures show record levels of attainment across primary school level and significant improvements in secondary. I congratulate our pupils and teachers for their hard work over the last year.

“These findings are the most up to date statistics on attainment and are comprehensive across all publicly funded schools in Scotland, demonstrating a clear rise in standards above pre-pandemic levels among primary school pupils. Along with this year’s SQA results, they point to widespread rises in attainment.

“I recognise that there is no room for complacency and our programme of reform across the education and skills system will help identify where further improvements can be made and will look to drive enhanced attainment to ensure all young people meet their full potential.”

COSLA’s Children and Young People Spokesperson Cllr Tony Buchanan said: “Today’s Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels publication shows increasing attainment and the attainment gap narrowing reflecting the work and dedication of schools, councils, and partners to improving children’s outcomes. Mainly, it demonstrates the efforts of children and young people themselves and this should be celebrated.

“The improvements are made despite the backdrop of severe and increasing pressure on local budgets and recruitment challenges in specific subjects and areas of the country. Earlier this year we set out clearly to the Scottish Government that additional core funding is crucial to enabling further improvement in the attainment, health and wellbeing of children and young people, as opposed to financial penalties relating to school staffing numbers.

This was particularly important in the context of falling school rolls, changes to Scottish Attainment Challenge funding and the ending of additional resource for councils to support Ukrainian refugees. We are clear that Local Government needs flexibility to provide the right support within and outwith schools, drawing on the expertise of a range of professionals.

“Councils have continued to demonstrate their ambition to further improve outcomes for children and young people across Scotland. In line with the Verity House Agreement, we will seek to engage constructively with the Scottish Government to work collectively towards this shared aim, including on further education reform in line with recent reports on the curriculum, qualifications and new national education bodies.”

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Record number of students from deprived areas attend university

The number of Scots from the most deprived areas enrolling at Scottish universities is at a new record high.

Higher Education Student Statistics, published today, show a new overall record number of students enrolling in Scottish institutions – an increase of 8.6% compared to last year. This includes a new record high of Scottish domiciled students enrolling at university.

There has also been a large increase in the number of non-EU domiciled students – up 17% on last year.

Commenting on the figures, Higher and Further Education Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “Every young person should have an equal chance of success no matter their background or circumstance, so it is great to see the number and proportion of Scots from the most deprived areas at university hit a record high.

“By 2030, we want 20% of students entering higher education to come from Scotland’s most deprived backgrounds and the Commissioner for Fair Access has previously said that Scotland is ‘setting the pace’ in the UK in widening participation.

“Today’s data also shows the number of students enrolling at Scottish universities hit a new record high and we have seen a large increase in international students. This highlights the fact that Scotland, along with our world class higher education institutions, remains an attractive place to study and live for prospective students.

“However, we have seen a continued drop in EU students coming to study in Scotland following Brexit. EU students enrich our campus life and I hope we can still welcome many of them to our world-leading institutions.”

Higher Education Student Statistics UK 2020-21 show:

  • A record number of students enrolled at Scottish HEIs in 2020-21: an increase from last year of 8.6% (+22,385) to 282,875

Scottish domiciled                180,170         (+7.9%,   +13,120 since 2019-20)

rUK domiciled                       34,520            (+8.4%,   +2,685 since 2019-20)

Non-EU domiciled               47,630            (+17.0%, +6,935 since 2019-20)

EU domiciled                        20,550            (-1.7%,    -345 since 2019-20)

  • 16.7% of Scottish domiciled full time first degree entrants to Scottish HEIs are from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland. This is an increase of 0.3 percentage points, or 545 entrants, from 16.4% in 2019-20.

League tables don’t reflect our schools’ amazing work

A school feels ‘under attack’ when put at the bottom of a narrow-focused league table, says Craigroyston headteacher Shelley McLaren

Each year the release of newspaper school league tables for Scotland is a day I dread, and the publication of the 2021 results yesterday was no different. The language of the headlines – “Which school is the best in Scotland?” and “Scotland’s schools ranked best to worst” – is both incredibly damaging and demoralising for staff, pupils, parents and school communities across the country, not to mention the reputational harm it can cause for years to come (writes SHELLEY McLAREN).

The stories will continue today in the local news, where it feels like we need to put on our armour and prepare for attack. No matter how much we’ve done in all other parts of school life throughout the year, the focus to determine our worth and whether we are a “good” school seems to rest singlehandedly on the one measure of how many young people achieve five Highers in one sitting.

As a school, we pick up the pieces from this for months to come – only for it to come around again next year. It is not, of course, that we do not focus on trying to improve by the measure of five Highers, but, because of context and, indeed, probably our own vision and values, we will always be near the “bottom”.

Our main aims are educating our young people out of poverty and instilling in them the belief that no matter where you come from or the challenges you have faced in your life, you can still achieve your dreams and be the best you can be. University, a modern apprenticeship or a job are all given equal weighting; the most important thing is that the young person has achieved the best they can – and, believe me, every day we support, challenge, motivate, nurture and push high expectations to ensure this happens.

League tables aren’t fair on schools

I congratulate those top-performing schools where up to 86 per cent of young people have achieved the “gold standard” of five Highers. It is an incredible achievement and should be celebrated – but everything is about context, and schools should and need to be measured on so much more.

I am not shirking accountability or responsibility as a headteacher – the measure of five Highers is important – but if closing the attainment gap simply meant improving this one measure, and that determined whether we were a “good” or “bad” school, we would have used our Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) and Scottish Attainment Challenge funding very differently – and probably not made that many gains.

I could concentrate on the fact that 70 per cent of our young people live in SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) 1 and 2 or that 20 per cent of each cohort arrive at us with a reading age of 8 or below, or that nearly 40 per cent of our students are on free school meals. This would make it easy to excuse why we are one of the “worst” schools in the league table – but I won’t, because that is not what we base our views of children on.

What I will focus on is that, in 2020, nearly 95 per cent of our young people left school to go into a positive destination – above the national average of 93.3 per cent – and that last session 100 per cent of our young people in S4 achieved five or more national qualifications (nobody was “left behind”, regardless of any barrier) and that this year 23 of our young people (almost a third of the cohort) are heading off to universities across the country – the same group of young people who didn’t achieve five Highers in one sitting.

I implore you, please don’t judge our incredible young people or our amazing school, filled with dedicated, passionate staff, on this one measure of five Highers – know that we are doing everything possible to ensure that our students are given a gold-star service to prepare them to have the best life possible after school, with or without the achievement of the “gold standard”.

Are we one of the “worst” schools in the country? Of course we’re not – and I would vehemently challenge anyone who considers this to be the case.

Shelley McLaren is headteacher at Craigroyston Community High School

This article first appeared in TES

Closing The Gap: Proportion of pupils in Higher or Further Education reaches record high

93.3% of pupils had a ’positive destination’ including work, training or further study within three months of leaving school last year, official statistics show.

The proportion of school leavers in higher or further education is at a record high, with 72.2% continuing in education in 2019-20, up from 67.6% in 2018-19.

The statistics highlight the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with the fall in positive destinations from 95.0% last year mostly driven by a decrease in leavers going into work.

The figures also show that for National Qualifications:

  • The proportion of school leavers with one pass or more at SCQF Level 5 (e.g. National 5) or better is 85.7%. In 2009-10 the proportion was 77.1%.
  • The proportion of school leavers with one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 (e.g. Higher) or better is 63.9%. In 2009-10 the proportion was 50.4%

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Despite the challenges of COVID-19, it is heartening to see a continued high proportion of our pupils in positive destinations after leaving school, with a record percentage continuing in further and higher education.

“This year’s statistics clearly highlight the impact of the pandemic on young people, with a sizeable decrease in those entering employment reflecting the limited opportunities in the labour market. We are providing direct support to those affected through the Young Person’s Guarantee which gives every 16-24 year old a job, placement, training or volunteering opportunity.

“The data shows increases in the proportion of school leavers gaining one pass or more at SCQF Level 5 or better, SCQF Level 6 or better and SCQF Level 7. We also see a welcome increase in school leavers choosing vocational qualifications to develop wider skills for the world of work, with more than a fifth (22.5 per cent) now achieving one or more vocational qualification at SCQF Level 5 or better, compared to 7.3 per cent in 2013/14.

“Closing the poverty-related attainment gap and giving every young person the chance to fulfil their full potential, regardless of their background, remains our defining mission.

“This commitment is a long-term one, and we know the closure of schools and the cancellation of last year’s exams due to COVID-19 has impacted our progress and made that task harder.

“While official measures of the attainment gap rose slightly over the year, the proportion of leavers from the most deprived areas gaining one pass or more at a given level or better rose at most SCQF levels and the attainment gap is much smaller than it was in 2009/10.

“Over the last 10 years we have seen the gap close significantly at most SCQF levels with the difference in the proportion of school leavers achieving a pass at SCQF Level 6 (Higher or equivalent) or better among those from the least and most deprived areas decreasing by 9.6 percentage points compared to 2009/10.

“We have committed over £300 million in education recovery over this year and next, including to recruit additional teachers and support staff and address digital exclusion. and I am determined to continue to support our young people through these unprecedented times.”

Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations 2021

Record number of students from deprived areas heading to University

A record number of students from Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas have successfully gained a place at university according to UCAS statistics published yesterday – the third year in a row a new record has been set. Continue reading Record number of students from deprived areas heading to University

Primary kids get set for Daily Mile

A few minutes of physical activity aids health and boosts performance

running

The Education and Health Secretaries have written to all primary schools in Scotland to encourage them to implement daily physical exercise as part of the school routine, through the roll out of the Daily Mile or other initiatives. Continue reading Primary kids get set for Daily Mile