Results don’t define pupils’ futures

as placements covered eight qualifications including accountancy, creative and digital media and health and social care.

The project, which had an 86% pass rate, with a further 10% of pupils gaining progression awards, is being renewed for next year.

Mr Docherty believes foundation apprenticeships will “transform” the way senior pupils learn in the future.

He said: “They bring internationallyaccredited trainers into our schools delivering industry-standard training opportunities – these qualifications are great for pupils’ confidence and readiness for the world of work, they’re recognised by universities and they’re great for employers who want young people to be able to hit the ground running with them when they leave school.”

Amy Simpson, 17, was celebrating passing her foundation apprenticeship in children and young people through Ellon Academy and Balmedie Nursery, while waiting to see how the rest of her results fared once the postman arrived.

She said: “The apprenticeship was more beneficial and taught me time management and patience and made me think about how to act around children. It offered more responsibility than other courses. It’s good to have the classroom learning and then see how it’s put into practice in the placement.”

At the best of times, exam results day is an anxious one for youngsters, and this year’s was even more so, played out as it was against the backdrop of a lockdown-interrupted session.

As ever there will have been highs and lows yesterday. Some children will have the grades they expected, others will have done better or worse than they hoped or feared.

And many will take the opportunity to appeal against their final marks, allocated after their work was rated by teachers and then moderated by the Scottish Qualification Authority.

Such a system was never going to be perfect, or fully mirror the results pupils would have achieved in the traditional exam setting, but it was vital that it was put in place.

There is little doubt that very few children will not have suffered in some way because they have been unable to go to classes, take part in activities and mix with their friends.

It is, however, important to bear in mind that the results pupils received yesterday will not define their futures.

Exams can be taken again, passes that were missed can be achieved, and grades improved on.

And youngsters must be reassured that the route to their ideal career – much like the road out of lockdown – does not have to run in a straight line.

“Route to ideal career – much like the road out of lockdown – does not have torunina straight line”

Photograph by Kami Thomson Fifth year pupil at Albyn School Aidan Hague, who will be deputy head boy, with his glowing results.