Fall in standards

Dear Editor,

According to the latest Government data, only 49 per cent of S2 pupils are performing well or very well in writing, down from 64 per cent in 2012.

These pupils may well go on to study for exams in a mixed class which is where Nat 4, Nat 5, Highers and Advanced Highers could be taught simultaneously in the one subject class.

Surely this abysmal classroom situation cannot be justified by anyone with the slightest concern for our schoolchildren, particularly at this crucial stage in their education?

Studying for exams is stressful ,even in a calm environment, but to have the distraction of their peers following other courses in the same classroom, at the same time, is both intolerable and unfair to pupils and their teachers.

Is it not time that John Swinney searched deep into his conscience and was brave enough to admit that his numerous reviews and reforms to halt the steady decline in our education standards are merely headline-grabbing news and are not working?

Surely he owes that to the current generation of children (and their parents) whose entire school years have been spent as a backdrop to the relentless quest for Independence, which clearly transcends everything, even our children’s life chances.

The sad reality for this lost generation of children is that they will spend their entire schooling in large and ever-growing classes despite the 2007 manifesto pledge to reduce class sizes to 18 for P1 to P3 and 24 for P4 to P7. Head teachers are struggling to cope with the massive impact of 4000 fewer teachers, 1000 fewer support staff and 700 vacancies.

There is no doubt that the Education Secretary inherited a system in chaos from his ineffective predecessor. The answer to the problem, however, is not to continue to introduce countless reviews and reforms, but to accept the fact that the vast reduction in teaching and support staff on their watch is one of the major factors in the declining education standards.

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