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Scotsman
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Scotland exam results: Ministers under pressure for failing to close poverty-related attainment gap
PA Attainment has risen in the last year but the gap between pupils from the wealthiest and most deprived backgrounds remains almost static Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ministers are facing increasing pressure to close the poverty-related attainment gap as a crucial government-set target looks certain to be missed. Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) results show the level of attainment across National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers increased in 2025 compared to last year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But figures released by the SQA also show the gap between pupils from the wealthiest and most deprived backgrounds remains almost static, closing by just 0.1 percentage point. In 2015, while First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon pledged the elimination of the attainment gap was 'a yardstick by which the people of Scotland can measure our success', and the 2016 Programme For Government said the disparity would be significantly reduced by 2026. On a visit to meet pupils at Glasgow's King's Park High School, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said progress had been made but cited the pandemic and austerity measures from Westminster governments. She said the country now has a 'markedly different' education system than existed in 2016 and making direct comparisons is 'challenging'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'A decade on we've had a global pandemic. We've also had austerity policies which have harmed some of our most vulnerable families. 'And I'm always struck by that in my school visits, the normalisation of anti-poverty policies within our schools now.' Ms Gilruth said that when she was last teaching, around 15 years ago, anti-poverty measures did not exist in classrooms. 'So our schools are stepping up to that challenge,' she added. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'They're having to use resources like the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF), which has come from that funding that Nicola Sturgeon committed to, that they should not have to be doing.' Ms Gilruth pointed again to the slight narrowing in attainment gap figures and said that progress 'should be supplemented' by progress in literacy and numeracy in primary schools. PA 'We also see the narrowing of the poverty related attainment gap in terms of positive destinations, which have narrowed since 2009 and 2010 by two thirds,' she added, pointing to UCAS data that shows more young people from poorer backgrounds are going on to university. The number of 18-year-olds from Scotland's most deprived areas securing places at university has increased by 100 to 1,960, which is a record high. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The number of young Scots who have secured a place at university this year has also increased to a new high of 16,340 acceptances for 18-year-olds, up four per cent on last year. Scottish Labour Education Spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy called the SNP's fudging of the 2026 target 'damning'. 'Almost a decade on and SNP ministers are refusing to own up to Scots that they have repeatedly made promises that they are unable to deliver upon,' Ms Duncan-Glancy said. 'Education is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the Scottish Government, and yet Jenny Gilruth instead chooses to make excuses for the SNP's atrocious record. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Scotland's young people are being held back by a failing SNP government, with ministers consistently shirking responsibility for their own failures.' Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Miles Briggs also said 'no amount of spin' could detract from the failure to eradicate the attainment gap. SQA results show that the gap between the most and least deprived pupils obtaining A to C grades at National 5 was 16.6 per cent, with the gap at Higher 17.1 per cent and Advanced Higher standing at 12.8 per cent. For Higher, this is a shift of 0.1 per cent from 17.2 per cent last year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The gap between the most and least deprived pupils achieving A grades at Advanced Higher has widened by almost three per cent since prior to the pandemic. Mr Briggs said: 'Frankly, no amount of spin from them can avoid the fact that Nicola Sturgeon's promises in relation to the attainment gap lie in tatters. 'She wanted to eradicate it completely yet still there is a huge gap in the results achieved by those from our most and least deprived communities. 'It should be a source of shame for Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney that those from the most deprived communities are still facing a postcode lottery when it comes to educational achievement.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In Glasgow, which faces some of the worst rates of deprivation in Scotland, Advance Higher attainment has seen a marked increase. The number of S6 pupils achieving one or more qualification at that level rose by 1.4 per cent. This is despite the closure of a specialist facility at Glasgow Caledonian University designed to help pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds study for Advanced Highers. Douglas Hutchison, executive director of education at Glasgow city council, said the local authority had moved to share resources between secondary schools to ensure pupils did not miss out. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Some young people will travel to other schools in the city to study subjects not available at their own secondary. Mr Hutchison said: 'Our consortium arrangements have worked out really well and the evidence of that is in the increased attainment.' He added that additional resource is necessary in schools to make a significant difference to attainment figures. 'We've got great teachers in our schools,' he said. 'It's the additional support around teachers to make their life a bit more straightforward that has been eroded over the years in different ways. 'But I do think things are going in the right direction.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This year's Higher pass rate is 75.9 percent, an increase of one percentage point compared to the previous year. Other than 2019 and 2024, it is the lowest Higher pass rate in the past 15 years. Results have fallen from the record highs of 2023 but have increased on last year. The pass rates for National 5 and Highers were similar to pre-pandemic levels but for Advanced Higher dropped to 3 per cent lower than in 2019. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The number of pupils with an A to C grade for National 5 qualifications rose from 77.2 per cent last year to 78.4 per cent this year.
RTÉ News
26-06-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
Calls for uniform approach to hospital car park charges
Aontú is calling for all party support for proposed legislation to make the first three hours of hospital car parking free to patients and their families. The Department of Health says it is working with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to explore ways to lower hospital car parking charges in line with a commitment in the Programme For Government to reduce the burden on patients and their families. "Hospitals that charge parking fees understand the financial burdens this can place on patients and their families," a Department of Health statement said. "Many hospitals have some form of exemptions or allowances in place such as the option of flexible day passes or multi-trip entry passes for regular hospital attenders, and various concessions based on the type of inpatient." The HSE also said a national review of car parking charges is being communicated to Regional Executive Management of Health Regions, to explore ways to minimise hospital charges, as committed in the Programme for Government. At Dublin's Mater Hospital on a weekday morning, the multi-storey car park is already full at 9.30am. Among those lucky enough to get one of the last spaces is the daughter of a hip replacement patient who travelled from a rural area in Co Kildare to collect her elderly father. She told RTÉ's News at One that the parking was expensive. "It's €3.20 an hour and you could be here for a few hours. Every time I come up it's nearly €15 per day, so if you're coming up twice or three times a week that's €30 or €40". Her father pointed out that public transport is not an option from their rural home. "I do feel it's very unfair. I've worked for forty years and paid tax," he said. The Irish Farmer's Journal has been highlighting the burden on those travelling from rural areas to hospital appointments. A recent headline reads: "Are hospital car park charges a tax on ill health?" Irish Country Living Editor Ciara O'Leary said they also looked at the income generated by hospitals from the charges. "The total income that flowed from car parking charges from hospitals in Ireland across 2023, which was the most recent figures available came to near €16m at €15.7m," The Irish Cancer Society has also long campaigned for measures to ease the financial burden on cancer patients attending hospital on a regular basis. "More hospitals have introduced concessions, but it still remains a postcode lottery," CEO of the Irish Cancer Society Averil Power said. She said that 12 out 27 hospitals have free parking for cancer patients, while others have concessions, but some charge the full rate with charges in some parts of Dublin several times higher than the rest of the country. Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín called for a uniform approach to be imposed by the Government. "Most political parties have this policy in their manifesto before they go to election," he said. However, previous efforts to implement a uniform approach to hospital parking charges have gone nowhere. In 2018, the HSE undertook a national review of car parking charges under the instructions of then health minister Simon Harris. It proposed a cap on charges, and concessions for regular hospital users.
Belfast Telegraph
04-06-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Value of Stormont Executive's office in Beijing questioned
The chair of the Assembly's scrutiny committee for the Executive Office suggested it cost around a quarter of a million pounds a year to run the office in Beijing. The Executive also has offices in Washington DC and Brussels. It has had a presence in Beijing since 2014, before then-first minister Arlene Foster opened an Executive bureau in December 2016. Executive Committee chair Paula Bradshaw said she had concerns around its value for money, after the committee heard from the three bureaux during a meeting last month. Executive Office official Brenda Henderson said she appreciated there is frustration around transparency and accounting for what they do. 'One of the things that I want to do is to get that coherency across all three bureaux and with the international relations team in Belfast to make sure that we have a clear narrative, that our communications plans can let you see, and let our ministers see, exactly who we're meeting, what is the outcome of that, what does it mean, the 'so what' question in terms of the Programme For Government,' she told MLAs. 'Work is already under way on that.' Ms Bradshaw followed up by asking at what point would they conclude it is not value for money, and that they could be doing other things with that money. Ms Henderson said there are different ways to measure value for money. 'One of the things that I know that the overseas offices do is that they build relationships, you have to build those relationships before you utilise them, but there are things about companies, investment, increased student places they bring,' she said. 'I think what we need to do is be more absolutely transparent about that and be clear about the metrics, what we can measure and that we stand in front of those.' Permanent Secretary David Malcolm said he can 'see behind the curtain', and knows what the Beijing office is doing, He expressed frustration it was not communicated. He said last month the vice minister for education in China visited Northern Ireland and signed an agreement with the Confucious Institute in Belfast and the Department for the Economy for a £34 million programme over the next 10 years. He also said in Beijing this St Patrick's Day, there were two community organisations led by Chris Hazzard, including young people who had never left Ireland before. 'There is significant work we're doing,' he said. 'We are also talking to the Chinese Consul about a mini conference here later on,' he said. 'The Chinese have agreed to fund three placements in Beijing through the Arts Council to give people the opportunity to break into the Chinese market. There is a tremendous amount we're doing.' He added: 'Not just in Beijing, in Washington, we punch miles above our weight in the representational role we get, and indeed in Brussels.'
The Herald Scotland
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Value of Stormont Executive's office in Beijing questioned
The Executive also has offices in Washington DC and Brussels. It has had a presence in Beijing since 2014, before then-first minister Arlene Foster opened an Executive bureau in December 2016. Executive Office chair Paula Bradshaw (Brian Lawless/PA) Executive Committee chair Paula Bradshaw said she had concerns around its value for money, after the committee heard from the three bureaux during a meeting last month. Executive Office official Brenda Henderson said she appreciated there is frustration around transparency and accounting for what they do. 'One of the things that I want to do is to get that coherency across all three bureaux and with the international relations team in Belfast to make sure that we have a clear narrative, that our communications plans can let you see, and let our ministers see, exactly who we're meeting, what is the outcome of that, what does it mean, the 'so what' question in terms of the Programme For Government,' she told MLAs. 'Work is already under way on that.' Ms Bradshaw followed up by asking at what point would they conclude it is not value for money, and that they could be doing other things with that money. Ms Henderson said there are different ways to measure value for money. 'One of the things that I know that the overseas offices do is that they build relationships, you have to build those relationships before you utilise them, but there are things about companies, investment, increased student places they bring,' she said. 'I think what we need to do is be more absolutely transparent about that and be clear about the metrics, what we can measure and that we stand in front of those.' Permanent Secretary David Malcolm said he can 'see behind the curtain', and knows what the Beijing office is doing, He expressed frustration it was not communicated. He said last month the vice minister for education in China visited Northern Ireland and signed an agreement with the Confucious Institute in Belfast and the Department for the Economy for a £34 million programme over the next 10 years. He also said in Beijing this St Patrick's Day, there were two community organisations led by Chris Hazzard, including young people who had never left Ireland before. 'There is significant work we're doing,' he said. 'We are also talking to the Chinese Consul about a mini conference here later on,' he said. 'The Chinese have agreed to fund three placements in Beijing through the Arts Council to give people the opportunity to break into the Chinese market. There is a tremendous amount we're doing.' He added: 'Not just in Beijing, in Washington, we punch miles above our weight in the representational role we get, and indeed in Brussels.'
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Value of Stormont Executive's office in Beijing questioned
The value for money of the Northern Ireland Executive's office in the Chinese capital has been questioned. The chair of the Assembly's scrutiny committee for the Executive Office suggested it cost around a quarter of a million pounds a year to run the office in Beijing. The Executive also has offices in Washington DC and Brussels. It has had a presence in Beijing since 2014, before then-first minister Arlene Foster opened an Executive bureau in December 2016. Executive Committee chair Paula Bradshaw said she had concerns around its value for money, after the committee heard from the three bureaux during a meeting last month. Executive Office official Brenda Henderson said she appreciated there is frustration around transparency and accounting for what they do. 'One of the things that I want to do is to get that coherency across all three bureaux and with the international relations team in Belfast to make sure that we have a clear narrative, that our communications plans can let you see, and let our ministers see, exactly who we're meeting, what is the outcome of that, what does it mean, the 'so what' question in terms of the Programme For Government,' she told MLAs. 'Work is already under way on that.' Ms Bradshaw followed up by asking at what point would they conclude it is not value for money, and that they could be doing other things with that money. Ms Henderson said there are different ways to measure value for money. 'One of the things that I know that the overseas offices do is that they build relationships, you have to build those relationships before you utilise them, but there are things about companies, investment, increased student places they bring,' she said. 'I think what we need to do is be more absolutely transparent about that and be clear about the metrics, what we can measure and that we stand in front of those.' Permanent Secretary David Malcolm said he can 'see behind the curtain', and knows what the Beijing office is doing, He expressed frustration it was not communicated. He said last month the vice minister for education in China visited Northern Ireland and signed an agreement with the Confucious Institute in Belfast and the Department for the Economy for a £34 million programme over the next 10 years. He also said in Beijing this St Patrick's Day, there were two community organisations led by Chris Hazzard, including young people who had never left Ireland before. 'There is significant work we're doing,' he said. 'We are also talking to the Chinese Consul about a mini conference here later on,' he said. 'The Chinese have agreed to fund three placements in Beijing through the Arts Council to give people the opportunity to break into the Chinese market. There is a tremendous amount we're doing.' He added: 'Not just in Beijing, in Washington, we punch miles above our weight in the representational role we get, and indeed in Brussels.'
