Sharp rise in schools restricting subject choices claims Tory leader
● FM criticised for squeeze on education
The number of Scottish high schools where fourth-year pupils can only choose to study six subjects has dramatically increased by 250 per cent in just six years, the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has claimed.
New statistics from Freedom of Information requests to Scotland’s local authorities has shown there are now 165 secondary schools where pupils take six subjects or less in S4 – up from 46 in 2013 when the controversial curriculum for excellence was introduced.
Revealing her party’s figures at yesterday’s First Minister’s Questions, Ms Davidson also said the number of schools where pupils take seven or more subjects in their fourth year has almost halved from 308 to 182 – a drop of more than 40 per cent.
She said it was pupils in the most deprived areas of Scotland who were being hardest hit by a subject choice squeeze, as they were more likely to leave school at the end of fourth year.
However, Nicola Sturgeon said the issue was not just about what qualifications pupils take in S4 and accused Ms Davidson of “talking down” Scottish education.
“What matters are the qualifications young people leave school with, that they take over the entirety of the senior phase of education,” she said. “In 2009, 22 per cent of young people left school with five Highers or more. That is now more than 30 per cent of pupils and we’re seeing the attainment gap narrow. The evidence does not bear out Ruth Davidson’s analysis.”
Ms Davidson said she had put the results to Professor Jim Scott, honorary professor of education at Dundee University, who has examined the issue of subject choice.
Yesterday Prof Scott said be found the FOI data to be “almost entirely consistent” with his own investigations. “Analysis of the data shows that just over 200 schools have declines, or significant declines, in the number of entries [for SQA qualifications] whereas just over 50 demonstrate an increase, with only a very few showing a significant increase,” he said.
The First Minister said while Prof Scott’s analysis of S4 qualification was important, “the fundamental point we’re making is it’s the qualifications young people leave school with, and we’re seeing more young people leave school with more qualifications.
“No matter how much Ruth Davidson wants to talk down the performance of Scottish education, the facts of the matter are proving her wrong,” she said.
Ms Davidson said the reduction in subject choice for pupils was due to schools not having enough teachers and “children from disadvantaged areas suffering the most because they are still the ones most likely to leave school at the end of S4”.
“Analysis of the data shows that just over 200 schools have declines, or significant declines”
PROFESSOR JIM SCOTT