Scottish Government 'failing pupils' as number achieving at least one exam pass drops

The number of pupils leaving school in Scotland with at least one exam pass fell last year, prompting opposition parties to claim the Scottish Government was moving at a “glacial pace” to narrow the attainment gap.

Across multiple levels and age-groups, attainment has dropped in Scottish schools, according to official figures. Picture: John Devlin

Education secretary John Swinney today described the "slight fall" in the number of youngsters leaving school with at least one exam pass as a "fluctuation", and pointed to the growth over time in pupils achieving at least one Higher.

But the Scottish Conservatives said it was a "complete disgrace" that the attainment gap between the richest and poorest pupils was growing again in certain areas.

Mr Swinney said Scotland has a "high performing" education system despite figures showing the number of school leavers who had at least one pass at National 4 National 5, Higher or Advanced Higher all dropped.

The figures showed the number of school leavers who had at least one pass at Higher level dropped from 62.2 per cent in 2017-18 to 60.5 per cent in 2018-19. For Advanced Higher, the decrease went from 20.2% to 19.1%.

The Scottish Government figures further revealed the proportion of leavers with at least one pass at National 4 level went from 96.2 per cent to 95.9 per cent over the period, with a drop from 85.9 per cent to 85.1 per cent for the number who had at least one National 5 level qualification.

Mr Swinney said: "Compared with the previous year, there has been a slight fall in attainment for school leavers who achieved one or more national qualifications.

"In any high performing system there will be fluctuation, however over time the percentage of school leavers achieving one or more pass at National 5 and Higher level has improved substantially."

Figures show 28.7 per cent of school leavers had five Higher passes or more in 2018-19, compared to 30.4 per cent the previous year.

While 59.3% of pupils from the least deprived areas went on to university, only 25.9% of their counterparts from the poorest areas achieved this.

Scottish Conservative education spokesman Jamie Greene said: “This is another damning report showing the SNP government is failing pupils of all ages and abilities.

“It’s a complete disgrace that the attainment gap is growing again in certain areas, especially after all the noise the SNP has made about this issue over the years.

“Even where the gap’s closing, it’s only because youngsters in wealthier areas are declining at a quicker rate. It seems John Swinney’s entire attainment gap strategy is framed around everyone getting worse at different rates."

Scottish Labour's education spokesman Iain Gray said: “The SNP government is moving at a glacial pace to close this stark gap in opportunity.

"Combined will falling attainment these figures compound the need for a wholescale review of the badly implemented Curriculum for Excellence.

"For years the SNP has savagely cut further education, the most common educational destination for those from deprived areas, diminishing the opportunities of thousands of our young people."