Capital schools under fire for 'worrying' performance

BUSINESS leaders in the Capital have labelled the performance of the city's schools as "worrying".

The most recent results, published in October, shows the number of Edinburgh pupils getting good passes at exams has declined by five per cent.

The performance is worse than the average three per cent fall across Scotland and three per cent rise in England.

In its latest 'economy bulletin', the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said: "Excellence in school education is an essential ingredient of economic success, particularly in advanced economies such as Edinburgh which relies on a highly-skilled workforce. Good schools also play a role in attracting the most talented workers. So it is always worrying when new statistics show deterioration in performance."

The Chamber also said it is "disappointing" the Scottish Government will not take part in two international studies that measure educational performance despite schools showing a worsening performance.