Oban High bucks national trend of decline in results

EXAM results across all secondary schools in Argyll and Bute have been released in a report due to be presented to the council’s Community Services Committee today (December 8).

The percentage of A- C grades achieved in Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) exams across all 10 high schools in 2015-16 sat above the national average at National 4 (96.17 per cent) and Higher (78.29 per cent) levels, but below it at National 5 (76.23 per cent) and Advanced Higher, which fell from 83.6 per cent in 2014/15 to 75.6 per cent this year – 6.1 per cent below the national average.

However, Oban High School bucked that regional trend, seeing its number of Advanced Higher A- C awards rise from 84.4 per cent in 2015 to 85.71 per cent this year.

Oban’s National 4 passes also rose slightly to 93.03 per cent, and it saw a bigger jump in Higher A- C awards from 73.5 per cent in 2015, which sat 4.6 per cent below the national average, to 77.24 per cent this year, which sits just above it.

But the number of students achieving National 5 A- C awards in Oban fell by 0.48 per cent to 70.82 per cent this year, which is 5.39 per cent below the local authority average, and 8.58 per cent below the national average. And 20.88 per cent of students received no awards, above the authority average of 16.53 per cent, and national average of 14 per cent.

Islay and Tobermory high schools saw 100 per cent of their students pass National 4. At National 5, Islay saw a fall in students attaining A- C awards from 85.5 per cent in 2015 to 82.35 per cent this year, while Tobermory saw a rise from 85.4 per cent to 86.52 per cent, but both island schools sit above the national average of 79.4 per cent.

At Highers, Islay’s A- C awards dropped from 78.6 per cent to 76.88 per cent, and Tobermory fell, too, from 88.7 per cent to 87.91 per cent, but was still well above a national average of 77.2 per cent.

There was an even larger contrast at Advanced Higher level, where just 40 per cent of pupils sitting those exams at Islay High and 42.86 per cent at Tobermory High received A-C awards, far below the national average of 81.7 per cent. However, the report notes that due to the small number of pupils taking Advanced Highers, ‘the statistical variances can be significant. Some pupils are given the opportunity to attempt a level such as Advanced Higher that they may find challenging to pass as it may be their last opportunity to do so. Schools offer the pupils the opportunity to sit the exam to improve their positive destination chances, such as access to higher or further education.’

Tiree High School, where pupil numbers taking exams often fell below the limit of five to be registered, scored 100 per cent in National 4 passes and in National 5 A-C awards, 78.57 per cent in Higher A-C grades, and again 100 per cent at Advanced Higher A-C awards – thanks to just one pupil.