There was some dismay this week when the publication of this year’s exam results showed that the attainment gap for Highers has risen to its highest level since the new qualifications were introduced.
The findings sparked a stern rebuke for the SNP from some of our correspondents.
Today, however, one of our readers leaps to the defence of the Scottish Government.
Mary Thomas of Edinburgh writes:
"Jill Stephenson and Martin Redfern (Letters, August 8) fail to appreciate that high UK-wide poverty rates is the main reason for the attainment gap or that Westminster has control of the major economic levers required to address poverty.
However, there has been a record narrowing of the attainment gap in primary schools where literacy and numeracy improvements reach a new high. Also, well over 90 per cent of pupils in Scotland go on to positive destinations within nine months after the end of the school year.
The overall Higher pass rate for 2024 is 74.9% which is similar to 2019, the last pre-Covid year, and the figures for the most deprived areas have actually slightly improved compared to 2019. During the last four years of Labour control up to 2007, the overall Higher pass rate only reached 71.7% in their best year.
Scotland has the most educated people in Europe, half the population aged 25 to 64 have a university, college or vocational qualification and is four per cent above the UK average.
On subject choices, why would Scottish youngsters study French or German when we have been taken out of Europe against our will and, as for STEM subjects, Labour’s decision to cancel funding for Edinburgh University’s £800 million super computer is a massive blow for our ambition to become a leading centre for research, development and innovation."
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