West Dunbartonshire kids have poor exam results

Oct 3 2008 by Amanda McKendrick, Lennox Herald (main ed)

PUPILS in West Dunbartonshire are lagging behind their classmates across the country for exam results.

Figures revealed last week by the Scottish Government also showed that as well as fewer pupils passing key standard grade and higher exams, West Dunbartonshire has a higher number of pupils leaving school earlier than other authorities.

The council’s examination results were compared against Scotland’s 32 other local authorities. While in some grades the area’s pupils shone, in the majority they were behind the rest of the nation.

The numbers of school leavers are up three per cent on last year, meaning the authority’s figures are among the worst in the country. The Scottish average for pupils staying on till sixth year is 45 per cent, but in West Dunbartonshire the figure is just 40 per cent. In Argyll and Bute the figure is 52 per cent.

West Dunbartonshire faired better for pupils passing five or more foundation level exams, with the authority ranked 12th in Scotland and three per cent better than the Scottish average. At general level, only seven other council areas were ranked below West Dunbartonshire, but with 75 per cent of pupils recording passes, this was just one per cent below average.

By the end of fourth year, 30 per cent of pupils had passed five or more credit level Standard Grades, forcing it in to 27th place in the league table of authorities. This was four per cent below the Scottish figure.

For five or more credit passes by the end of fifth year, West Dunbartonshire had the third worst results in Scotland, down five per cent on the previous year’s figure.

Pupils achieving one, two, three or four Highers by the end of fifth year were below the Scottish average and lower than other authorities.

Twenty-five per cent of pupils in the authority gained three or four awards at Higher level by the end of sixth year, meaning West Dunbartonshire was fifth worst.

For those gaining five or six Highers, the authority was once again lagging behind, with 15 per cent making the grade compared to the Scottish average of 19 per cent.

West Dunbartonshire has the second poorest results in Scotland for pupils gaining advanced Highers. Just eight per cent of pupils passed compared to the Scottish average of 12 per cent.

A council spokesman said: “The department works closely with all schools to analyse results rigorously and develop strategies to improve performance. The aim of the department, and of all our schools, is to share good practice and to enable all our young people to achieve the standards of which they are capable.

“Staying-on rates are affected by a range of factors, including the availability of employment opportunities in the area. Our aim is to maximise the number of students who leave school for ‘positive destinations’ (further or higher education, employment or training) and we have a range of initiatives in place to help us achieve this goal.”