Pass rates remain high as pupils learn exam results

The pass rate for Highers was slightly down on last year but Shetland’s school pupils greeted another successful results day.

A total of 580 students received results spanning from National 4 exams to Advanced Higher.

The 76.8 per cent pass rate for Highers was 3.2 per cent lower than last year. But the Advanced Higher pass rate rose by 6.4 per cent, from 74.3 per cent in 2016 to 80.7 per cent this year.

A total of 96.2 per cent of National 4 students recorded passes – up 2.5 per cent – while the National 5 pass rate remained exactly the same as last year at 80.2 per cent.

Councillor George Smith, chair of Shetland Islands Council’s Education and Families Committee, said: “It is very encouraging to see how well Shetland pupils have done in this year’s exams.

“I hope that all our pupils feel that they have done their best and that their results allow them to move on to the next stage of their lives.

“It is particularly pleasing that Shetland’s excellent attainment levels have been maintained and I would congratulate all pupils and thank teachers and support staff for this achievement.”

Eleanor Hutcheon, 18, from Lerwick was among the happy students from Anderson High School.

“I am very pleased. It’s been a really good day,” said Eleanor, after discovering she had earned a distinction in the Scottish Baccalaureate in Science.

She got an A in Advanced Higher Biology, A in Advanced Higher Chemistry and an A in her disciplinary project to seal the top grade in the Baccalaureate. She also got a B in Advanced Higher French.

In September, Eleanor will go to Edinburgh University to study Biomedical Sciences.

Another pleased Anderson High School sixth year was Crystal Galbraith, 18, from Lerwick, who said her results were better than she was expecting. She will now take a year out to work before applying to do Performing Arts in Inverness next year.

Earlier this year at Brae High School, 15-year-old Matthew Johnson sat seven National 5 exams. Today he discovered he scored a grade A in every one of them.

He said: “I am quite relieved to get the results and get that over with. I had lots of advice and guidance before the exams so I felt quite prepared even though some of the exams were quite difficult.

“I was quite concerned about Physics because I found that exam the most difficult but I hoped to get a B at the least. I was quite glad when I saw it was an A.

“I would like to study Architecture at university. I know that’s a really difficult course but that would be my dream job to do that.”

National 4 and National 5 exams, usually sat in fourth year, were introduced in 2013-14 to replace standard grades. They are part of Curriculum for Excellence.