Drop in pupils getting five Highers last year

FOUR Inverclyde secondary schools saw fewer pupils achieve the ‘gold standard’ of five Highers last year.

Figures released as part of The Sunday Times’ annual league table of Scottish schools show that Clydeview Academy, Notre Dame High, St Stephen’s High and Inverclyde Academy all recorded a drop in the number of 2023 pupils attaining five Highers.

Two schools - St Columba’s in Gourock and St Stephen’s High in Port Glasgow - saw their rates improve in 2023 compared to the year before.

The Times’ analysis lists schools by the percentage of pupils who gained the Scottish Government’s ‘gold standard’ of five Highers, with the term being shorthand for the qualification officially known as SCQF 6.

This means the analysis also includes Higher equivalents such as the national progression awards.

Clydeview, which had the highest percentage of students picking up five Higher level qualifications in the district, saw its rate fall from 53 per cent in 2022 to 47 per cent last year.

This put them 70th overall in The Times’ table of 347 ranked Scottish schools.

The next best performing school in terms of the metric was St Columba’s High in Gourock, which saw its rate rise to 41 per cent from 38 per cent the year before, placing it 114th in the table.

The rate of pupils attaining five Highers at Notre Dame High in Greenock in 2023 was 34 per cent, a drop of 10 per cent from the year before. This leaves the school ranked 186th on the list.

Port Glasgow High School saw the biggest percentage drop in Inverclyde, with its rate falling by 15 per cent between 2022 and 2023. It was placed 236th.

However its 2023 rate of 29 per cent meant it still had a higher percentage of pupils achieving five Highers than St Stephen’s High and Inverclyde Academy, which placed 258th and 291st on the list respectively.

The St Stephen’s percentage improved from 23 per cent in 2022 to 27 per cent, while Inverclyde Academy’s fell from 30 per cent to 24 per cent.

When approached by the Telegraph regarding the figures, an Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “Young people participate in a wide range of courses which are assessed in different ways through school and our partnership with the college.

“SQA graded courses are an important part of our offer to young people but they are just one of the many and varied qualifications that are available.

“This includes Skills for Work courses, National Progression Awards and Foundation Apprenticeships all of which do not receive a grade but are of equal value to graded SQA Higher Courses.

“The measure of five or more Highers is only one measure of success of our schools. Attainment is more than exam results.

“The measure used here does not take into account the wider context of individual schools and pupils.

“Attainment can be gauged in many different ways and varies for each student.

“Our curriculum is tailored to support every single pupil and promotes achievements through academic, vocational, practical and other areas.

“Inverclyde continues to perform well academically and we’re proud of the excellent work going on in all our schools by our staff and pupils.”