‘Worse than postcode lottery’ says councillor

AWARDS of results for pupils whose exams were cancelled has been branded worse than a postcode lottery.

A greater proportion of youngsters from schools in deprived areas who were expected to be awarded Higher, Advanced Higher and National 5 qualifications in fact failed.

Scottish Qualifications Authority moderators adjusted around a quarter of the estimated grades teachers submitted for pupils across Scotland, and individual schools’ past performance influenced the results.

There was a 15% gap between the actual and estimated pass rate for children in the most deprived areas, compared to 7% for those in the least deprived areas.

A Fife councillor contacted by a number of distraught parents described the results as a postcode lottery but a Dundee councillor said it was worse than that.

Lochee Labour councillor Michael Marra said: “It wasn’t even a lottery.

“The results were set in stone and no luck nor hard work could change them.

“Considering Dundee results remain among the worst in Scotland, schools here will be more impacted than elsewhere. The results were set in stone and no luck nor hard work could change them.

“For a bright, hardworking kid in a challenging school the Scottish Government put in place a system that means their work counts for nothing.”

He also questioned whether the system to determine results after exams were cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions was legal under the Equalities Act and called for a judicial review.

Seven schools in Dundee have at least 30% of pupils from deprived areas. These are Craigie High School, St Paul’s RC Academy, Baldragon Academy, Braeview Academy, Morgan Academy, St John’s RC High School and Harris Academy.