Shetland's school pupils have again done well in the national examinations, maintaining an above-average performance and, in one sector, improving greatly on previous years.
622 school pupils in Shetland received their exam results on 6 August), by text, email or post. An initial analysis of the results shows another high performance, with the biggest improvement in passes at Advanced Higher, in which there was a 7% improvement.
The percentage of Standard Grade Credit grades (Grade 1 or 2) remained at the very high level of last year, down only very slightly from 61.8% to 61.4%, which is more than 12% above the national average. At Higher level, the percentage of passes (A-C grade) in at least one subject held steady, at 77.9%, slightly above the Scottish average.
The number of candidates sitting SQA qualifications in Shetland rose from 609 in 2012 to 622 in 2013.
This was the last year of Standard Grade exams and Chair of the Education and Families Committee, Councillor Vaila Wishart, said that Shetland's record of achievement in Standard Grade over the last twenty-nine years was something to be proud of. "My congratulations to all of this year's candidates on their results and my thanks to the teachers who have helped them do so well.. I have no doubt that we will see a similar performance in the new qualifications within the Curriculum for Excellence."