EMERGENCY measures have been introduced to prevent Scottish pupils leaving school with no qualifications.

John Swinney, the Education Secretary, has issued new guidance to prevent the unintended consequence of pupils leaving in S4 with nothing to show for their time in secondary school.

As a result, an earlier decision by Mr Swinney to scrap a raft of internal classroom assessments has been reversed in the short-term for some pupils.

The new guidance also lowers the mark for a D grade in National 5 exams from 45 per cent to 40 per cent to allow more pupils to secure a grade even if they don’t pass.

The situation arose after Mr Swinney agreed in September last year to get rid of the so-called unit assessments that were part of National 5 qualifications following pressure from teaching unions.

The decision, which applies to the 2017/18 school year, was made to reduce spiralling teacher workload and lift the burden of assessment on pupils with more emphasis placed on the final exam.

However, because National 5 classroom assessments were also used to award pupils the lower level National 4 qualification if they failed the final National 5 exam it left pupils facing the unintended consequence of leaving school with nothing.

Mr Swinney said: “I have been listening closely to feedback about the need to ensure the achievements of young people continue to be recognised.

“Teachers and learners are currently making decisions about courses for the next academic year and it is incumbent upon schools and colleges to ensure learners are presented at the appropriate qualification level.

“The new guidance confirms that a fall-back option will be available for National 5 on an interim basis only until such time as the National 4 qualification has been revised. The guidance also makes clear that this should only be used in exceptional circumstances.”

Mr Swinney’s about-turn on the unit assessments was attacked by political opponents who accused him of “fumbling about”.

Liz Smith, education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservative Party, said: “It is extraordinary that the Scottish Government has only woken up now to the fact that a sizeable number of pupils could leave school with no creditable qualification.

“It has been obvious for some time that there are major issues with National 4 and National 5 exams, the most important of which is the failure of the system to cater for the best interests of least academic pupils.”

Labour education spokesman Iain Gray added: “On the face of it these are welcome changes deigned to reduce teacher workload, but they are symptomatic of deeper problems with our exam system.

“The new exams, introduced by SNP ministers and simply bolted on to Curriculum for Excellence are having all kinds of unintended consequences.

“John Swinney persists in piecemeal sticking plaster solutions instead of acknowledging that fundamental reform is needed to exams.”

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union, said the changes should have been announced earlier to help schools plan.

He said: “It is a matter of regret that this Scottish Government advice has been a long time in coming as this has led to significant uncertainty for schools over a prolonged period.”

The guidance states: “Schools will be able, in exceptional circumstances and for an interim period only, to continue presenting candidates for both National 5 units and the course assessment.”