Published on:
10
August 2018
The Council has praised Clackmannanshire’s young people, and thanked school staff and parents and carers, on a successful set of SQA results for this year’s exam diet.
This year's results demonstrate the continued improving trend in education in Clackmannanshire. Over 1,000 young people across the county were presented for almost 5,000 SQA qualifications, ranging from National 1 to National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher, Life and Work skills, and Personal Development Awards. With Curriculum for Excellence now fully embedded in all our schools, young people have the opportunity to develop a portfolio of qualifications and awards throughout their Senior Phase of education, from S4 to S6, which are designed to meet an individual pupil's needs and strengths. This means the range of qualifications achieved by each young person is much more varied than in the past, designed to give them a breadth of skills and awards to prepare them for life, work and future learning.
This year, there has been an improvement in the number and quality of awards in English and Maths across all three of Clackmannanshire's Secondary schools, at both National 5 and Higher levels. The number of “A” passes at Higher has also improved by a fifth. The number of young people achieving two or more Highers is up by 7%. The number of pupils who gained Personal Development Awards has also increased. Achievement of our young people from some of our most disadvantaged backgrounds has also improved, with a significant increase in their pass rate at Higher.
The Preliminary Results are expected to further improve once all units are submitted and the post-results service is complete. All post-results data plus the full set of awards gained will be updated when the national online benchmarking data is published in February 2019.
Education Spokesperson Councillor Graham Lindsay said: "I am very proud of all the young people in Clackmannanshire who have worked hard to get their results today. It is particularly rewarding to see the improvements in English and Maths, as well as the number of our young people with additional barriers to learning who have achieved at National 3 and 4 level, and other Awards. I would like to thank all our school staff and parents and carers for their support in encouraging our pupils to aspire and achieve. This demonstrates the improvements across the Education Service leading to better outcomes for all our children and young people in Clackmannanshire.”
All our schools are providing help and advice for candidates following the issuing of the exam results.
Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has an Exams Results helpline offering advice, information and support for young people and their parents. Help is available from qualified careers advisers who have unique access to information on UCAS course vacancies at UK colleges and universities, Confirmation and Clearing, advice about Modern Apprenticeships, employment and training opportunities. The number to call is 0808 100 8000.
Information for pupils and parents is also available on SDS’s My World of Work web service www.myworldofwork.co.uk. There is also information about Modern Apprenticeships and Foundation Apprenticeships at www.apprenticeships.scot. Students can also access help, advice and support via SDS’s Facebook page which has practical help and links to UCAS, SAAS, Young Scot and the SQA.
Meanwhile, the SQA Candidate Advice Line provides information for candidates on the content and layout of their certificate. Details are available on the candidate’s results paperwork.