Results day testing time for youngsters
The morning of results day is one that no-one ever forgets.
Normally, a summer has been well enjoyed before attention returns to worrying about how each exam went.
There is, of course, now no need to wait for the postie to drop off the results by hand, but the wait for the text message must be equally as anxious.
Yesterday, however, would have been a results day like no other previously experienced by pupils and parents.
Since coronavirus caused the closure of schools , there has been understandable concern over the cancellation of exams.
Instead, this year the SQA relied on teacher judgement and a “moderation” process – the methodology of which they made public only yesterday, too.
People across Rutherglen and Cambuslang should be proud of our young people who received their results yesterday.
Pupils – and their hardworking and dedicated teachers – deserve praise for achieving these results through what has been an incredibly difficult period for everyone, but which has impacted young people in particular.
I am well aware of the concerns facing young people about the affect their results this year will have through the remainder of their school journey, or on to college and university.
Support is available to make more sense of results, and the options open to young people via Skills Development Scotland’s exam hotline – 0800 100 8000.
In the year ahead, I will be working hard in Parliament to ensure that our pupils and teachers are safe and well supported in school.
Given all that pupils and teachers have faced already, it is vital that the government and the local authority ensure they are properly supported through a return to school in August – and minimise the risk of disruption to assessment.
There are significant debates to be had over how we reintegrate pupils to the classroom and ensure that any widening attainment gaps in our schools can be tackled.
We also must ensure that a broad curriculum is available to pupils and that they are well supported into the next stages of their lives.
For now, however, I want to send my congratulations to all pupils, school staff and parents.
We have incredible schools here in Rutherglen and Cambuslang and the way in which they have responded to this crisis has proved this once more.