Why SNP's exam-time stress should be greater than the pupils'

The SNP has reason to fear their report card from voters if Scotland’s exam results do not improve

With the beginning of exam time, the pressure is on. As pulses race, intestinal butterflies take flight, and beads of sweat trickle across furrowed brows, those prone to nerves may dread the next few weeks.

However, we are not speaking so much of the 132,000 pupils about to sit some two million exam papers. We are confident they will all be as well prepared as their parents’ generation (ahem). No, instead, those with reasons to feel more than a little bit stressed are the people in charge of Scotland’s once-lauded educational system – the politicians.

Exams can be stressful, but the pressure is on the SNP more than the pupils (Picture: David Jones) | PA

Educational attainment has been on the slide in Scotland, and the gap between rich and poor pupils is as wide as it was a decade ago. Last year’s results were worse than those before the cataclysm of Covid, prompting Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, a former teacher, to admit they were “not good enough”.

Hopefully Gilruth and her colleagues have not been skimping on their homework and progress has been made. Otherwise, their report card from voters may be even more severe than the dreaded “could do better”.