There was good news at Highland Council’s education committee, as officers reported a strong improvement in attainment across the board.
Highland has recently lagged behind national averages in exam performance. However, the latest set of results show it’s successfully narrowing the gap.
The biggest improvements were in S4, with the number of pupils gaining 3+ and 5+ awards at SCQF Level 5 increasing significantly.
In 2017, 61% of S4 pupils got three or more awards at SCQF 5 – this has increased to 69%, just short of the national average.
The number of S4 pupils achieving five or more awards at the same level is also up by 12%, to 52%. The national average is 54%.
The senior years recorded more modest improvements. S5 results were steady but still lagging behind the national picture. Highland is between 4% and 6% behind the Scottish average in SCQF 6.
In S6, there was a marked improvement in the number of pupils achieving at least one award at SCQF 6 and 7. This was 61% in 2017 and increased to 67% in 2022 – but it’s still 2% short of the national average.
The biggest gap is 5+ awards at SCQF 6 and 7, where Highland scores 33% against Scotland’s 40%.
Councillor Liz Kraft welcomed the “really encouraging” results, while Muriel Cockburn emphasised that the council is “here for every young person, to support them, to pursue them and support them, whether it’s going to Cambridge or becoming apprentice of the year”.
‘Surely our vision should be number one?’
Despite the improved picture, some members want the council to be more ambitious.
Councillor Richard Gale welcomed the introduction of ‘stretch targets’ for school attainment but asked if they’re stretching enough.
Meanwhile, Alasdair Christie remarked: “Surely our vision should be number one?
“There’s still a gap to be closed.”
Education boss Fiona Grant urged councillors to take one step at a time. She said that a 1% or 2% improvement is a “dramatic shift” while gains in mathematics are “outstanding”.
This prompted councillor Helen Crawford to observe that if a 1% improvement is dramatic, so too is the attainment gap.
Ms Crawford said she’d like to hear more about the “step change” that’s needed to raise Highland attainment.
Her Conservative colleague Andrew Jarvie had similar concerns. He said that while Highland is improving, so is the national average, so the gap remains.
He added: “This report talks about finding a way to challenge schools to improve attainment. That’s not the question to ask. It’s how do we in this chamber support them to improve attainment?”
Mr Jarvie said the council should implement tangible actions, including policy change. For example, he said Highland has among the lowest pupil-to-teacher ratio in Scotland.
“This is six years now of the same discussion, and I’d like in the next year, to say we’ve done something good,” he said.
Chairman is ‘bamboozled’
Education chairman John Finlayson said he was “perplexed, bamboozled and amazed” by Mr Jarvie’s comments.
He said the education team had clearly articulated the changes and improvements on the horizon, both in the committee report and chamber presentation.
These include:
- stretch targets for each school
- more foundation apprenticeship courses
- bespoke, school-based attainment analysis sessions
- the sharing of good practice and enhanced curriculum offerings
- improved data on student attainment profiles
- support for pupils with ‘interrupted learning’ via the Highland Virtual Academy
Mr Finlayson also suggested that the council embrace a wider definition of attainment.
While five Highers is an important measure, Mr Finlayson said he’s proud of the wider achievements of Highland pupils too.
“We’re having a lot of conversations about what education should look like,” he said. “Is attainment at five Highers the only benchmark we should be looking at for our young people. In a society that is changing rapidly… are we recognising just attainment or should we be accrediting other achievements in a wider context?
“We might see that what attainment looks like will be very different.”
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