Schools across East Lothian were celebrating today as the 'exam' results for pupils were released by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

Exams may have been cancelled for the first time in nearly 150 years in Scotland but youngsters were awarded grades based on assessments by their teachers of their work and progress which was reviewed by the SQA.

And in East Lothian the hard work paid off with Maths and English pass rates increased on last year and 74 per cent of sixth year students receiving pass rates - the highest figure in five years.

The number of young people in East Lothian achieving A-C grades in Higher qualifications also increased to 78 per cent - up five per cent on last year.

More S5 students presented for Highers and the pass rate went up to 81 per cent - two per cent higher than last year.

Across all year groups for Higher English the pass rate was up by 4% to 80% and in Maths, which had been an area of focus, it was up from 69 per cent ot 71 per cent.

In total 2,349 candidates in East Lothian received 11,239 awards.

At National 5 level 80 per cent of those presented achived A-C grades and just over a third recevied an A.

The pass rate for National 5 English remained steady at 90 per cent and those receiving an A increased from 38 per cent to 41 per cent on the previous year.

In Maths the national 5 pass rate went from 62 per cent to 67 per cent.

The number of S4 pupils achieving five or more awards at National 5 or better decreased by three per cent to 35 per cent.

The number of students taking Advanced Highers in S6 fell to 42 per cent this year.  The percentage of all students passing Advanced Higher increased by five per cent to  83.2 per cent and pass rates at A Grades were at their highest level with 34 per cent.

Lesley Brown, the council's chief operating officer for education, said: “This year’s exam results show improvements across a range of qualification levels.

"I am particularly pleased to see the results of our focus on improving Maths, evidenced in the results at National 5 and Higher.

"Our schools will continue to build on this positive picture in the new academic year. I am also delighted with the  five per cent increase in pupils achieving A-C grade at Higher level.

“The cancellation of the exam diet for this year was challenging for our pupils and our staff.

"I’d like to commend everyone on the resilience that they showed and congratulate all of our learners on their achievements."

Councillor Shamin Akhtar, cabinet member for education, said: “Congratulations to all our young people on the success they have achieved in their SQA results. The results show improvements in Maths and English across all levels which is welcome news.

"The last few months have been a very stressful and challenging time for young people, their families and school staff.

“Thanks must go to our young people for all their hard work and effort over the past year and to their parents and carers who have supported them. S

"Staff across all our schools have worked extremely hard in submitting evidence to the SQA during lockdown and we are extremely thankful for all their efforts.”