Exams in Scotland begin in last year of Covid modifications

Pupils across Scotland will sit down on Monday for the first written exam of the 2023 diet.

This is the last year any modifications will be made to mitigate disruption caused by Covid.

Next year the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) plans to set exams back to pre-pandemic norms.

But parent groups said disruption from teacher strikes mean some young people are still feeling the pressure of catching up.

They, and unions, say extra support will still be needed for pupils who have only known disruption at high school.

S4 pupil Reagan is 16 and preparing to sit six National 5 exams. She hopes to study law at the University of Glasgow.

Living in Glasgow, her school was targeted for multiple strike days because it was in a prominent MSP's constituency.

She said: "The pandemic happened when I was in S1. It didn't affect me too much. But with the strikes it was quite hard on me and my friends.

"During our prelims, the teachers were on strike the day before so we couldn't really talk to them or go over anything we were worried about."

Her mum, Lucia told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme it was a concerning time: "I was very worried and we didn't know if it would affect her.

"When we knew the strikes were coming we tried to get her prepared from the teachers in advance."

Amy, 16, from Aberdeen, is also in S4 but felt the strikes did not affect her too much.

She told BBC Scotland: "I am a bit stressed but I worked hard over the Easter holidays so I feel prepared."

On the strikes, she said "I was stressed that I wouldn't be in school but I wrote questions down and then brought them in to school."

Patrick McGlinchey, the executive director of parental engagement charity Connect, thinks support is still vital for the Covid generation.

"We have a generation of young people in Scotland who have known nothing but disruption when it comes to exams," he said.

"What we need now is a period of stability and balance - that is what parents are telling us - and that means additional support for young people through this period from national government and those national bodies."

He added that most carers think that three years of consecutive exams is too much for our young people.

He said: "Research from OECD shows young people from Scotland are amongst the most assessed in Europe.

"We need balance. Parents tell us they want a system that is flexible and provides different ways for different young people to show their learning. Maybe an exam isn't right."

Scotland is currently in the middle of a massive rethink of its education system.

Last year's OECD independent review led to the announcement that the SQA was to be replaced as part of an overhaul of education.

The report backed the curriculum as a whole but said there was too much focus on exams in later years of schooling.

Last month Prof Louise Hayward released her interim report for the Scottish government on the future of Scottish exams.

It suggested scrapping exams in S4 and the possibility of a more wide-ranging "Scottish Diploma of Achievement". 

The full report and its recommendations will be published later this year.

Unions are wary of plunging young people into the "business-as-usual" SQA diet next year only to change the system again post-Hayward review.

The SSTA have threatened to boycott exams in 2024 if they go ahead in this form.

Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the EIS, Scotland's largest teaching union, believes Covid modifications should remain.

"Our members remain concerned by the impact of Covid," she said.

"And obviously the industrial action that took place earlier in this academic session was looming in the minds of some in terms of the impact that action was going to have on young people's preparation for the exams.

"Nonetheless it was action our members had to take.

"We can be confident teachers across Scotland have been pulling out all the stops to make sure young people are going to be ready."

She said the union supports the idea of less exams.

"We should not be putting young people unnecessarily through exams on an annual basis," she said.

"It does not leave the necessary time and space for depth and enjoyment of learning. It places too much stress on too many young people and really exacerbates workload issues for teachers.

"We think there is a much more considered way to do things that is much more fitting for education in the 21st century."

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: "I think fundamentally we have a strong education system in Scotland with good teachers who care about the children and young people that they teach.

"The broad general education allows for greater breadth of the curriculum until S3 and then that focus on qualifications in the senior phase.

"And I do look forward to looking at the final outputs from the review and to considering that question in greater detail."