HUNDREDS of county youngsters had the nervous task of discovering their school exams results today (Tuesday).

And the good news is that there has been an increase in the number of young people from East Lothian achieving A-C grades in National 5 qualifications.

However, the local authority has not yet released a detailed picture of how pupils performed at Higher and Advanced Higher level.

According to this year's Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) results, exam pass rates across Scotland have fallen at every level except National 5.

In an early snapshot of how the students performed, East Lothian Council has released its ‘key highlights’ of the results, which focuses mainly on National 5 qualifications. They say:

  • More than 78 per cent of candidates sitting National 5 qualifications achieved A-C grades, up 3 per cent on last year and in line with the national average. Thirty-four per cent of candidates achieved a Grade A – an increase of 2 per cent. The pass rate in English is at its highest level in five years (90 per cent – a 6.8 per cent rise on last year).
  • There was an increase in the number of National 5 awards presented at S4 level with pass rates rising amongst that group (84 per cent compared to 80 per cent last year). The pass rate for National 5 English amongst this group was 93 per cent, an increase of 7 per cent from last year.
  • Overall, the pass rate for National 5 English was the highest in five years at 90 per cent, up 7 per cent on the previous year. It is also 4 per cent above the national average (86 per cent). Pass rates for Maths, which was an area of focus, remain "steady" from last year at 62 per cent, says the council.
  • The number of S4 pupils achieving 5 or more awards at National 5 or better increased by 7 per cent to 38 per cent.
  • By the end of S6, 34 per cent of pupils achieved 5 or more Highers, remaining "steady" from last year.
  • The percentage of pupils passing Advanced Higher increased by 3 per cent to 78 per cent.

Fiona Robertson, head of education at East Lothian Council, said: “These results reflect positively on the work in our schools to offer a broad range of qualifications and opportunities.

"I welcome the increase in National 5 qualifications presented at S4 level and the pass rate rise, which gives our young people a good grounding for their senior phase.

"A 90 per cent pass rate at English, its highest level in five years, is very encouraging and I’m pleased to see we are continuing steady results in maths which has been an area of focus for this authority and across the South East Improvement Collaborative (SEIC).

"Congratulations to all our young people on their results, and to our schools for the work that they have undertaken to support learning.”

A total of 11,051 resulted awards were certificated for 2,354 candidates across the county this year.