The A to Z of education: What 2025 holds for Scottish schools, colleges and universities

The Scottish Government’s immediate priorities for education in 2025 are as simple as ABC, it announced recently.

Ministers said they would focus on these three letters to “boost standards”, with the A standing for attendance and attainment.

Two children return to the classroom following school holidays. Picture: John Devlin

The former has remained stubbornly low since the pandemic, with close to a third of school pupils still persistently absent. On the latter, the gulf in performance at Higher between those from the poorest and wealthiest communities continues to widen.

B, meanwhile, is for behaviour and relationships, because violence in schools remains one of the biggest concerns for parents, pupils and staff.

And the C is for curriculum in schools, which is being revamped amid concerns over Scotland’s recent performance in international rankings for reading, mathematics and science.

But these are far from the only pressing issues in Scottish education that are likely to make headlines in 2025. Sticking with the alphabetical theme, The Scotsman has highlighted some of the others:

Students from the University of Edinburgh. Picture: Lisa Ferguson | NW

D is for Dundee University. The institution faces a £30 million deficit and starts the year without a permanent principal, following the sudden departure of Iain Gillespie.

E is for Edinburgh University. It is embarking on a job-cutting programme, with the help of a recently-recruited “turnaround specialist”, to try to balance the books.

F is for further education. Scotland’s colleges were bitterly disappointed as the SNP Budget for the coming year delivered another real-terms cut for a sector that has been squeezed by 17 per cent since 2021/22.

G is for Glasgow University. Sir Anton Muscatelli steps down after 16 years as principal, to be succeeded in October by Professor Andy Schofield from Lancaster University.

H is for Hayward. Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth recently rejected Professor Louise Hayward’s call to end the use of exams for National 5 courses, but said continuous assessment would contribute to a greater percentage of final grades, with exams potentially not needed in some subjects.

I is for industrial action. Universities, colleges and schools have been repeatedly disrupted by strikes in recent years, and 2025 may be no different. Some universities have not ruled out compulsory redundancies, a move that would likely trigger a ballot by unions.

J is for jobs. Concern has been growing in recent years about the lack of permanent posts available for teachers. A new campaign group, Scottish Teachers for Permanence, is certain to keep the issue in the spotlight.

K is for knowledge. Ms Gilruth promised greater emphasis on knowledge in the school curriculum after Scotland slumped to its worst scores in international Pisa tests. Knowledge is highlighted in a new National Improvement Framework for education.

L is for support for learning. More than 40 per cent of pupils now have additional support needs (ASN). At the same time, a growing number of frustrated families believe their children are not being adequately supported in mainstream schools. The trend is also piling pressure on schools and staff.

M is for mobile phones. Smart phone use has been linked to poorer pupil performance, distraction, and cyber-bullying. Head teachers have the power to ban the devices in schools, with many implementing policies.

N is for nurseries. Private nurseries continue to struggle as a result of the way the Scottish Government’s free childcare policy is delivered via councils.

O is for outcomes for care experienced children. Major gaps persist in outcomes for youngsters, who have spent time in care, compared to those for all pupils, including in attendance, attainment, exclusion and the proportion going on to positive destinations.

P is for private schools. They face an immediate change in 2025 as VAT will be charged on fees from January 1, leading to a huge increase in costs for many parents, forcing some families to withdraw their children.

Q is for Qualifications Scotland. If all goes to plan, a new body called Qualifications Scotland should replace the Scottish Qualifications Authority in autumn 2025.

R is for reform. The establishment of Qualifications Scotland and a new inspectorate will finally mark progress on the long-promised reform of Scottish education, a process previously described as “paralysed”.

S is for SDS, SAAS or SFC. In 2025, ministers should announce the future of agencies that oversee £3 billion of public money, potentially including the “dissolution” of the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), and changes to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

T is for teacher numbers. This year ended with a row after teacher numbers fell by 621. Ministers announced they had reached a deal with local government body Cosla to restore numbers back to 2023 levels, but councils have failed to give any guarantees.

U is for UHI. The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is undergoing a restructure to ensure the network of colleges work more “as one” institution, with 2025 to be a key year.

V is for VAT. The ending of their VAT exemption will not just impact private schools. Many families are now seeking places in state schools in the likes of Edinburgh, adding pressure in some areas and year groups.

W is for Withers. Changes to bodies like the SFC, SAAS or SDS are one element of post-school education and skills reform being progressed from a review by James Withers, with others also being developed, such as a shake-up of apprenticeships.

X is for exams. Next year should be the final exam diet overseen by the SQA. It will hope it runs more smoothly than 2024, which was dogged by controversies around blank emails on results day, and a sharp drop in Higher History passes.

Y is for Young Enterprise. It could also be the last year Young Enterprise programmes are delivered in the same way in Scottish schools after three decades, following the withdrawal of funding.

Z is for catchment zones. Some fear an influx of pupils from private schools to the state sector could force local authorities to build school extensions and even rezone catchments.