A record number of pupils in North Lanarkshire sat Higher and National 5 qualifications this year, with approximately 500 more young people gaining an A-C pass at National 5 level.
The news comes as young people received their SQA qualification results on Tuesday, 6 August 2024, with schools seeing an improvement across many measures compared with pre-pandemic results.
This year, 41.5% of young people achieved five passes at A-C at National 5, 13.4% achieved five passes at A-C at Higher in S5, and 26.6% in S6.
Councillor Michael McBride, Convener of Education, Children and Families, congratulated pupils who received results by email, text, and post today. He said, “It is heartening that so many more young people sat exams and received qualifications this year and their hard work, along with that of teachers and all education support staff should be commended.
“In this current school session, we have seen a return to full course assessment and another different approach to awarding and, given the challenges that schools have faced over the last five years, young people and staff have delivered results which are an enormous credit to them.”
Headline figures for North Lanarkshire Council’s SQA Results 2024 include:
- National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher results are in line with national data trends which show a downward trend.
- Increased number of young people being presented for qualifications in National 5 and Higher in North Lanarkshire
- Young people have continued to improve upon figures achieved in 2019 pre-pandemic with a 2.1% increase in S4 learners achieving 5 National 5 passes and a 1.5% increase in S5 learners achieving 5 Higher passes.
- In this year 41.5% of young people achieved 5 A-C passes at National 5; 13.4% achieved 5 A-C passes at Higher in S5 and 26.6% in S6.
Councillor McBride continued, “Understandably, there will be some young people who are disappointed in their results. Our schools will advise pupils about their grades and future options for further education or training.
"There is also the Skills Development Scotland helpline, which can offer useful information and advice, and the SQA helpline. Try not to be too despondent, as there are always options and opportunities for people.”