Education secretary statement on exams delayed until tomorrow ahead of circuit breaker announcement

The long-awaited statement on the 2020/21 exam diet in Scotland has been delayed by the Scottish Government.

A statement from John Swinney has been delayed until tomorrow.

Education secretary John Swinney was due to give a statement to Holyrood around 2:50pm today, but it has been delayed until tomorrow alongside the First Minister’s statement about a potential circuit breaker lockdown.

No official announcement of the delay has been made, but The Scotsman understands the statement will be made tomorrow afternoon instead.

Mr Swinney had been expected to make an announcement on whether Scottish pupils would be sitting exams as normal in 2021.

The statement was also going to include details of the report on exams written by Professor Mark Priestley and provide details of contingency plans if schools are forced to close again due to the impact of Covid-19.

Nicola Sturgeon is also expected to address the Scottish Parliament tomorrow with details of additional restrictions, including the potential closure of schools, following a briefing with her Cabinet this morning.

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