Making the grade – BCHS students' achievements hailed
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IMPROVING results in the most unusual of times has been the story for senior school students locally and across Moray.
The coronavirus lockdown saw all schools across Scotland closed – they are set to reopen tomorrow (Wednesday) – and the Scottish Government take the unprecedented step of cancelling this year's National, Higher and Advanced Higher exams.
Instead, students have had their grades based solely on school work done and teacher assessments.
However, this has not proved to be an impediment for students across Moray, with an increase in A-C passes at S4 for National 5 (N5) Qualifications and in the number of Highers for S5s
At Buckie Community High School (BCHS) there was plenty to celebrate on the results front, not least for four high-flying students in particular in the shape of the school's two duxes, Amber Smith and Erica Wood, Emily Strowger and Leah Hay.
Amber rounded off her career at Buckie High with three A grades at Advanced Higher while Erica claimed five As and a B – which is to be the subject of an appeal – at Higher. Emily swept the board with As at Higher, claiming five straight As while Leah, who was in S4, is now the proud possessor of Five Nat 5s and a Level 5 in Music.
When the Advertiser caught up with Amber, Erica and Emily, along with BCHS rector Neil Johnson, after the results, the trio all stated they were "chuffed" in the main with their results, although the lack of exams and not being clear as to exactly how the final grades were being worked out had added to the nerves.
Mr Johnson said a lot more uncertainty had been introduced into an already tense process this year.
"Overall I think our pupils did very well, given the circumstances. It's always a stressful time of year for pupils, parents and staff but this year we were all even more on tenterhooks as none of us really knew how it was going to work out.
"The S5/6 results are looking very good at this early stage, especially if you add in what will hopefully be successful appeals.
"However, the S4s seem to have been hit quite hard and their results are not as expected. They've been hit by a double whammy when it comes to the results. There's going to be a much higher than normal proportion of appeals.
"Also, a lot of our pupils do things which are not covered by the Nat 5s. Unfortunately, the figures which are available at the moment just cover Nats and Highers and don't include the likes of the National Progression Awards and others.
"The staff here put a huge amount of work into the estimates which were sent to the SQA [Scottish Qualifications Authority]. It's always a lot of work but this year has been something else.
"Letters have been sent to the parents of the young people who are eligible for an appeal asking for their consent to appeal. I hope grades will be adjusted to better reflect what we believe pupils deserve but at the moment that isn't much consolation for those whose results are not what they had expected and hoped for."
Appeals notwithstanding, Mr Johnson added that he had "every sympathy" for the SQA who found themselves in an "impossible situation" in many ways.
The BCHS rector went on to stress the importance of prelims, not least as it gives students a focus and is a useful diagnostic tool.
He added: "Many pupils coast up to the prelims and the exams act as a wake-up call.
"It's not uncommon to have pupils who fail their prelim and go on to get an A in the actual exam.
"One of the reasons we stuck with holding prelims at Buckie High is that they allow both the pupils and their teachers to see what they need to work on."
There were also plenty of smiling faces at Milne's High School, not least from rector Trish Cameron.
She said: "There is great cause for celebration at Milne’s High School with some wonderful examples of student attainment.
"Our S4 were a very able and hardworking year group and they have enjoyed record-breaking success. Although some S5 figures were not as expected there have been rises in the overall percentage of pupils gaining a higher award.
"Our S6 attainment continues to follow an improving trend with some very pleasing results. We must attribute this success to the high expectations and combined hard work of pupils, parents and staff.
"For students who require re-coursing, your guidance teacher will be in touch to organise meetings and support. Even throughout these challenging times, the educational progress balanced with the wellbeing of our young people are of paramount importance and continue to be our main focus."
The increase in passes at N5 Maths by five per cent; Higher English of seven per cent and Higher Maths of two per cent is a “perfect illustration” of the focus on numeracy and literacy, said the chairwoman of Moray Council’s children and young people’s services committee, Councillor Sonya Warren (Buckie – SNP).
“Across all our schools we have some exceptional achievements at all levels with more young people than ever before attaining seven grade As at National 5 level in S4 and also three and four grade As at Advanced Higher level in S6.
“We also have a promising number of learners who are achieving Highers in S4 and Advanced Highers in S5, which is to be commended. This is a perfect illustration of the effort put in by teachers to increase and improve numeracy and literacy attainment. We must also commend them for their diligence in helping pupils to achieve these grades, particularly during the challenge lockdown circumstances.”
This year also gives Moray their highest number yet of pupils achieving Advanced Higher passes in S6.
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