City schools get a good report

EDINBURGH schools are continuing to perform better than the Scottish average, according to the latest exam results.

A total of 23 per cent of pupils going on to study Highers have gained three or more passes, beating the national trend by one per cent.

And 75 per cent of Standard Grade pupils in the Capital have gained awards at general level or above, which is in line with the national average.

Schools with some of the worst academic records have also shown considerable improvement on last year's results.

Craigroyston Community High School saw a ten-per-cent rise in the number of pupils passing Standard Grade exams at general level or above, rising to 53 per cent in 2006/07.

Wester Hailes Education Centre performed slightly better than last year, with a total of 52 per cent achieving those grades.

But major differences still exist in both Standard Grade and Higher results at state schools in various areas of the Capital.

The results vary even further when independent schools are brought into the equation.

Andrew Burns, the city's Labour education spokesman, said: "The results this year show there has been some progress in certain schools from last year, and I very much welcome that.

"It clearly underlines that constant attention is required to ensure the progress that has been made this year is even better next year."

He added: "There will always be variations in a city such as Edinburgh, but what needs to be done is to ensure the best standards in terms of teaching and quality of materials available are applied across the city."

The figures, published yesterday on website Scottish Schools Online, also show the number of pupils leaving school without going into employment or further education is higher than the national average.

A total of 16 per cent of Edinburgh's 3692 school leavers this year were unemployed after coming out of education, compared to the Scottish average of 12 per cent.

However, 29 per cent of pupils have gone on to full-time higher education, while another 29 per cent have found jobs.

The Government has been accused of trying to "hide" the results from parents by publishing the results online.

The website crashed yesterday afternoon as parents rushed to log on to the site to access information about their local schools.

The format of the results, which are published on separate pages of the website, was today criticised by shadow minister for children, schools and skills, Liz Smith.

She said: "The Government may have changed since these results were last published a year ago, but there is still the same determination to hide the truly meaningful information from parents – namely how their child's school compares to others.

"Indeed, had it not been for the Freedom of Information Act, these figures would not be available at all. The Government is muddying the waters as much as it can."

• Click here to see how your child's school performed


WEB LINKS

• www.scottishschoolsonline.gov.uk