Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Pupils get their results after challenging year
IT was the culmination of a year of hard work for pupils across Tayside – but results day was like no other.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 138,000 Scottish school pupils did not sit exams this year, the first time this has happened since the examination system was introduced in 1888.
As a result, many pupils were even more apprehensive than their predecessors about whether they would have the grades they needed to pursue their career hopes.
Among those anxiously waiting for their results yesterday were 16-year-old Craigie High School pupils Daisy Young and Jill Dailly.
Daisy was awarded Higher As in maths and drama, a Higher C in modern studies, an A in National 5 maths, and a B at National 5 application maths. She said: “At the end of the day I got really good grades and I’m really happy with how it all worked out.
“They have come in pretty much as I hoped and predicted when asked earlier in the year but obviously it could have gone wrong.
“I was really worried when we were told we were not getting to do our exams.
“I was concerned that I hadn’t done enough in my prelims which were being used as an assessment.
“However, my teacher reassured me that everything would be fine.”
Overall, across Scotland, the pass rates rose to 81.1% for National 5s, 78.9% for Highers and 84.9% for Advanced Highers.
Daisy added: “Neither ourselves or the teachers have ever been in a situation like this before so none of us knew what to to expect.
“We did some tests during homeschooling to give us an idea of how we might get on and teachers assessed us on that and on past work.
“I think there might even be some merit for some pupils in not actually sitting exams.
“I don’t really panic in an exam situation but I know that plenty others do and can find it really stressful.
Meanwhile, Jill said she was also happy with her results and suggested continuous assessments might work on a permanent basis.
Jill was awarded Higher As in English, maths, music and psychology, a B in modern studies.
She said: “I’m really happy with my exam results.
“It did feel weird doing it this way initially but I felt it actually took a lot of the pressure off.
“I tend to get a bit stressed so this felt a bit easier than going into a room and sitting an exam.”
“Ongoing assessments might be a good way to do it in the future.”