Must try harder for acceptance of baccalaureate

By later today, it is to be hoped all 160,745 students who sat school examinations this year will have discovered how they did.

Congratulations are due to those who achieved the results they hoped for; commiserations go to those who did less well.

That more took Higher exams than ever before is hardly surprising. In the current economic climate, school students and their parents will be all too aware of the value of good qualifications for those seeking to go on to more advanced studies in higher and further education, or to employers for those wishing to go directly into work.

Thus it is also good news that the pass rate has also risen to a new high. Those who routinely complain that this may reflect a trend towards exams becoming easier should note that such an assertion is rebutted by the slight reduction in those receiving an 'A' pass at Higher grade.

Slightly worrying is the fact that so few pupils chose to take the new Baccalaureate exams. This may be because it was feared that the resulting qualification would be unfamiliar to employers and universities and would thus put the candidate at a disadvantage in the extremely competitive races for both work and degree courses. If so, it demonstrates that a lot of hard work needs to be done to gain acceptance of not just the Baccalaureate qualifications.