BEST EVER RESULTS BRING CHEER FOR PUPILS
P UPILS across South Lanarkshire are celebrating unprecedented success in this year’s exams.
The council’s Executive Director of Education, Jim Gilhooly, said the results were “the best ever achieved by young people right across national and vocational qualifications”.
The pass rate for all Highers was an impressive 77 per cent and at Advanced Higher the figure was even better with an 81 per cent success among pupils.
National 4 and 5 results were also higher than the previous year, with 95 per cent and 81 per cent pass rates respectively.
Mr Gilhooly added: “I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work that has helped deliver unprecedented school exam success across South Lanarkshire.
“The hard work of pupils and the support of their parents and carers were key in this success, and we acknowledge the efforts of our teachers and school support staff, who prepared our young people so well for their courses, assessments and qualifications system.
“This set of results shows our schools are equipping our young people with the skills, experience and attributes they need for the world of work or further study.”
Councillor Jean McKeown, Chair of the Education Resources Committee, said: “It is great to see so many young people achieve the success they deserve and my congratulations go to all pupils who gained a wide range of national
qualifications and awards.
“It is a reward for all their hard work and periods of study and the support provided by our teachers.”
Breaking down the results even further, for the first time more than 30 per cent of sixth year pupils finished their school career with five or more Highers.
The performance of fifth year pupils further enhanced the magnificent set of results, with 57 per cent achieving one or more Highers.
Mr Gilhooly added that even if some pupils had not received the results they had hoped for, they should remain positive.
He said: “Exam results are important but they need to be considered in the
As a school we are very pleased with our pupils performance in this year’s exams and the results are testament to the hard work put in throughout the year
context of the development of a range of skills and competencies as these are also important factors in enabling young people to enter the world of work or to move into further or higher education.
“While the majority will receive the grades they were hoping for we should also remember that even if there has been some disappointment there is always support and guidance on hand to help everyone build on their achievements in a positive way.”
Among those celebrating success were twins Fraser and Sophie Allardyce.
The 17 year old Cathkin High School pupils achieved a total of 10 Highers with Fraser gaining straight As in Maths, Physics, English, Biology and Graphic Communication and Sophie As in English, Maths, Music and Art and a B in Biology.
Depute Head Teacher Kevin McConnachie said: “As a school we are very pleased with our pupils performance in this year’s exams and the results are testament to the hard work put in throughout the year.
“Fraser and Sophie undoubtedly benefitted from our Higher Mentor programme which is designed to allow teachers to work with small groups of pupils through the year to help keep them on course to achieve the best results they can.”
The twins are staying on at Cathkin for their sixth year, each sitting a further two Highers and one Advanced Higher.
Fraser, who is aiming for a career in engineering, said: “The academic pressure will be a little lower this year and I am looking forward to the challenges of taking on the leadership roles within the school that are expected of senior pupils.”
Sophie, who plans to go to art school and study design, said: “I think we both feel the mentor programme was a real help throughout the year. We studied hard and the support ensured we stayed on track.”