In the Director of Education's report to the Education Committee on Monday 22 August, we have the first snapshot of the SQA examination results for this year. This compares passes as a whole in Dundee in 2011 with results in the city in earlier years. I am sure it is not just Councillors, but parents and carers too, who will want to see the figures for each secondary school and for each subject. We have also yet to see the results in Dundee in a wider context, so we need to know how they compare with those in other Council areas and how they measure up with the national average.
On the basis of the provisional and partial figures available to me, I welcome the cautious tone in this report, especially its warning against complacency. I also endorse the ongoing emphasis on raising attainment in our schools and the reiteration of the route map to further improvement.
At this stage however, I do want to pick out the further rise in the percentage of our pupils who passed a minimum of Mathematics and English at Foundation level in Standard Grade – up from 88% to 90%. This is an important milestone.
