A record-breaking set of exam results are “a real cause for celebration” that will improve pupils’ lives, said education secretary Mike Russell.
After Wednesday’s blunder, when almost 30,000 teenagers found out their own results by premature text message, certificates dropped through 160,00 letterboxes across the country.
For many pupils the nervous tearing of the envelope was followed by smiles and relief as performance improved at most levels compared to last year, with Higher pass rates the best ever.
Mr Russell said, “I would like to congratulate Scottish pupils for their outstanding achievements in this year’s exams. The increased attainment levels shows that all the hours of hard work and study students put in can really pay off.
“Scotland’s young people clearly have high ambitions and are achieving great success. We want to build on this and deliver further improvements because better skills meansbetter jobs, and better jobs mean a wealthier Scotland for all.
“Even though this was only the second year of the Scottish Baccalaureate qualification, the results show a significantincrease on last year’s entries for both science and languages with a pass rate of 80.5%.
“Our higher achievers are recognising the value of the qualification and the skills it provides.
“The attainment and achievements of Scottish pupils are a real cause for celebration and will go a long way in improving their life chances. I want to use this as a platform to move forward and realise the ambitions of each and every young person in Scotland.”
Candidates sat more than 733,000 exams this year.
There were rises in the number of Highers and Advanced Highers sat and improvements in pass rates.A passesThose taking Advanced Highers were more likely to get an A than any other result, suggesting schools have done well at selecting the high-fliers capable of completing these demanding courses.
The pass rate at Standard Grade, which is being phased out, was static, and the number of exams sat dropped as more pupils switched to intermediate one and two, which are at similar academic levels. Almost half of Standard Grade exams were graded at the top credit level.
Mr Russell added that the introduction of a mandatory paper on Scottish history in the Higher history exam had been an “exciting innovation” this year.
“I am delighted that our country and its interesting past is at the forefront of history education and we will build on this as we work towards introducing Scottish studies into our curriculum,” he said.
Everyone taking English at Higher and intermediate one or two had to submit an externally assessed folio of writing, such as poems and short stories or pieces written in Scots.
Dr Janet Brown, chief executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority, said the improvement in attainment had come from changes brought about by the Curriculum for Excellence.
“One of the most notable areas of improved attainment has been in the English courses.
“This new requirement for a mandatory folio of candidates’ discursive and creative writing has resulted in examiners seeing some really exciting pieces of work and this is surely a sign of even better things to come.”
Teaching union NASUWT welcomed the increases in pass rates, but warned that the “gold standard” of Highers was in danger of being tarnished by attacks on teachers’ pay and conditions.
It said, “Teachers need levels of pay which recognise and reward them as highly skilled professionals.”
National Union of Students Scotland said, “With places so scarce, and few opportunities available through clearing, we must make sure fair access to education is not compromised.”