First Minister has special words for exam pupils

On the day pupils in Scotland got their exam results, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she does not underestimate how tough the lockdown has been on those who were due to sit exams but were unable to.

She was joined by education secretary John Swinney, who commended the Scottish Qualifications Authority on developing a system that allowed pupils to receive certifications based on work they had already done.

Ms Sturgeon also announced a new Scotland-based survey to run in parallel with a UK-wide system to detect when and where there could be Covid-19 spikes.

It is already under way but has 'very few' people in Scotland taking part.

The idea is to provide a new form of modelling to help provide better early warning signs of increasing risk of the virus and will ask about contacts, travel and mask use, with around 3000 needing to take part.

The First Minister also revealed that Scotland has reached day 19 without any new deaths from confirmed cases of Covid-19, though there were an additional 23 positive coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.

That takes the overall number of positive cases to 18,717 with initial information suggesting that 15 of the 23 new cases are in the Grampian health board area, but it remains unclear whether they are linked to an outbreak in Aberdeen.

Ms Sturgeon said yesterday: “I want to say a special word to all young people across the country who are receiving their SQA results today. It is a long time since I got my results but I still remember it like it was yesterday.

“It is a really big moment and a young person's life so I hope you got what you were hoping for, but if you didn't it's really important to remember that there are lots of options open to you.

“Whatever your results are you should all be incredibly proud of the way you coped with the challenges of the past few months. At a moment’s notice you had to adapt to new forms of learning, your contact with friends and family was restricted, many of you missed out on a proper final year and you didn't get to sit exams.

“If you are contacted by a Test and Protect team and are advised you are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 you should self-isolate for 14-days – that should be seen as non-negotiable.

“In total, 138,000 learners from across the country should by now have received the results and I'm sure for many of you and for your families the build-up to this day has been very tense and I really do hope that you got the results that you wanted.

“But if you didn't, and if you are feeling disappointed right now, please bear in mind that this is just the beginning there will be many more opportunities ahead and you do have plenty of options.

“It's also important to note that there is advice and support there for you if you need it. For example, if you have a question about your results or if you want to appeal the results you got today you should contact your school or college or training provider.

“The SQA is this year running a free appeal service, there is also an SQA candidate candidate advice line – you should call the advice line if you have questions about your certificate.”

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