Summary

  • Education Secretary John Swinney says that all results that were downgraded this year "will be withdrawn"

  • However, candidates whose grades were bumped above teacher estimates will not have them downgraded

  • Following the changes, the 2020 Nat 5 pass rate stands at 88.9% (+10.7); the Higher pass rate is 89.2% (+14.4) and the Advanced Higher pass rate sits at 93.1% (+13.7)

  • Nicola Sturgeon says she would not expect Celtic or Aberdeen to play their next scheduled games because of coronavirus rule breaches

  • It comes after Boli Bolingoli admitted he played in Sunday's match against Kilmarnock despite having recently returned from Spain without quarantining

  • Pupils in Shetland and the Scottish Borders return to school for the first time since March

  • The number of positive cases rose by 52 in the last 24 hours with 27 in the Grampian area and 13 in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area

  • In total, 165 positive cases are associated with the Aberdeen pubs cluster, but the rate of increases appears to be slowing

  • The trend of no new deaths from positive virus results continues

Live Reporting

BBC Scotland News

  1. Coronavirus in Scotland: The headlines...

    Will Mr Swinney face a vote of no confidence at Holyrood?PA Media

    Will Mr Swinney face a vote of no confidence at Holyrood?

    If you're just joining us here's what's dominating the news in terms of the coronavirus in Scotland:

  2. Call to extend furlough scheme amid huge drop in UK employment

    Andrew Black
    BBC Scotland Business Presenter

    John CameronCB Technology

    There have been calls to extend the furlough jobs retention scheme after new figures said UK employment decreased by 220,000 between April and June - its biggest fall in more than a decade.

    The UK government says the scheme will finish at the end of October, but with unemployment in Scotland rising to 4.5% over the same period, John Cameron from Livingston-based electronics firm CB Technology said manufacturing and other industries needed some kind of extension to avoid more job cuts.

    "Everybody's concerned about what will happen with employment over the next few months.

    "With the end of furlough there's an expectation (unemployment) will go higher.

    "We've tripled our employment in the last couple of years and we want to protect it.

    Scottish manufacturing jobs are high value jobs. When we lose those skills, they're very difficult to replace

    John Cameron, Managing Director, CB Technology

  3. MSPs take evidence on impact of Covid-19 on the economy

    Figures out in this morning hour show Scotland's unemployment rate now stands at 4.5%.

    That's only slightly up on the last three months, but obviously doesn't include the millions across the whole UK who are still on furlough.

    Employment along with the huge challenge of securing an economic recovery will undoubtedly feature in today's economy committee at Holyrood.

    It's about to start and will hear from CBI Scotland; the FSB, the STUC, The Scottish Chambers of Commerce, IPPR Scotland and the Fraser of Allander Institute.

    You can watch the committee here: www.scottishparliament.tv.

    The full agenda and papers for the meeting can be found here.

  4. 'I'm genuinely still a bit cautious'

    Mornings with Stephen Jardine
    BBC Radio Scotland

    ProtestPA Media

    The education secretary will give a statement in response to an outcry over Scotland's exam results

    Sixteen-year-old Shaaray Sharif did not get the grades she had been hoping for when the school results were announced last week.

    Her predicted A and two Bs at Higher went to a C and two Ds.

    She tells Mornings with Stephen Jardine she has more hope now that Education Secretary John Swinney is going to make a statement on changing the results this afternoon

    "I'm still a bit concerned that they won't do much to help people, especially as my grades were downgraded by two and that was a very big shock," she says.

    "I'm genuinely still a bit cautious."

    Sharaay says Mr Swinney should listen to the grades estimated by teachers.

  5. Pupils in Scotland begin returning to school

    Pupils at Kelso High School are among the first in the UK to begin the new 2020/21 academic yearPA Media

    Pupils at Kelso High School are among the first in the UK to begin the new 2020/21 academic year

    Scotland's pupils will begin returning to classes for the first time since lockdown began nearly five months ago.

    Borders and Shetland schools are the first to reopen with most others following on Wednesday.

    Physical distancing among students will not generally be required but hygiene and safety measures such as one-way systems have been put in place.

    Except for children of key workers, most of the country's 700,000 pupils have not been in class since 20 March.

  6. What are the options for fixing the exam results system?

    John Swinneyreu

    Education Secretary John Swinney has been criticised over the exams issue

    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has admitted her government "did not get it right" with the system used to produce grades for Scottish school pupils.

    Education Secretary John Swinney will announce his plans to tackle the problem later today - but what are his options, and will they save him from a no-confidence vote at Holyrood?

    Read our full analysis here

  7. What should be done to fix Scotland's exam results?

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    Education Secretary John Swinney will announce his plans to tackle the exam results issue today.

    Join us here on the live page for extensive coverage as the minister gets to his feet at 2.50pm.

    How to fix the exam results is the topic for the phone-in on Mornings With Stephen Jardine, starting on Radio Scotland now.

  8. 'Face coverings won't work in primary school classrooms'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    children in a classroomPA Media

    Primary school teacher Laura McConnell says she can't wait to see her pupils. She says there have been "many layers" of guidance and many steps have been taken to make schools safe.

    Teaching unions have said most of their members are concerned about safety measures and are calling for face coverings in the classroom.

    But Laura says mask-wearing would not work for primary schools.

    My facial expressions are very important and so is children's communication with each other. In my own particular situation it would not be appropriate for the children's emotional health and wellbeing, and the children's mental health and wellbeing is just as important as the physical side.

    Laura McConnell, Primary School teacher

  9. Tories: 'The public have lost trust in John Swinney to run Scottish education'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    pupils protest at gradesPA Media

    Scottish Tory Jamie Greene says he will support a motion of no confidence in the Scottish Education Secretary John Swinney.

    He wants a system that "puts pupils in the centre" and does not "treat them as an algorithm".

    He says teachers who know pupils best have come up with evidence and they have employed a moderation that is "intrinsically unfair".

    The warning signs have been there for a long time. This could have been handled differently. John Swinney knew the problems were in the system. It is a system with baked-in inequality which has affected Scotland's most deprived pupils more than anyone else.

    Jamie Greene, Scottish Conservatives spokesman

  10. Greens: 'If it's not a good fix we will support no confidence vote in Swinney'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    Ross GreerPA Media

    Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens

    The Scottish Greens say they will be listening to John Swinney later at Holyrood to see what he comes up with to fix the exam results scandal.

    The party says it wants to see what the education secretary comes up with before deciding if they will support a vote of no confidence, being tabled by Scottish Labour.

    That support will "depend entirely" on the solution he proposes.

    What we want is a fix - young people are far more interested in getting the correct grades than getting a political scalp. What the Greens want here is a solution for the pupils who have been cheated out of the grades they deserve. We want a systematic reissuing of grades based on the estimated grades the teachers provided in the first place. Why when the system itself is broken should the burden be placed on individual pupils and teachers to try and fix it through appeals?

    Ross Greer, Education spokesman, Scottish Greens

  11. Sturgeon makes apology over results 'shambles'

    The first minister's apology over the exam results dominates Scotland's front pages.

    Read More

  12. Spreading Covid: 'Very little evidence children are effective spreaders'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    face coveringGetty Images

    The Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health says it is understandable that there will be anxiety about the level of coronavirus transmission as schools begin to return in Scotland.

    However, they say that current research suggests younger pupils do not spread the infection in the same way that others do.

    It comes amid concern from the EIS teaching union about young adults in the classroom.

    They have called for the wide spread use of face coverings where a teacher feels vulnerable.

    At this point in time there is very little evidence that children are very effective spreaders. Children do not seem to spread infection to other children and to adults. Clearly there will be the occasional case and I think we'll find this over the coming weeks and months. But at this point in time, the ability of children to spread the infection seems be much lower than it is for adults.

    Prof Steve Turner, Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health

  13. EIS union: 'Teachers want pupils to wear face coverings in class'

    Good Morning Scotland
    BBC Radio Scotland

    pupils wearing face coveringsGetty Images

    Larry Flanagan from the EIS teachers union tells the BBC 80% of his members have deep concerns about the safety of reopening schools.

    He says the absence of physical distancing is the main issue and they are talking actively to the Scottish government about introducing face coverings in the classroom, in particular for older pupils.

    Face coverings is a stronger case simply because we are talking about young adults and the government's scientific sub-group says the case of children not passing the virus on is less strong. If a teacher feels vulnerable in the classroom, they should have the right to indicate that face coverings should be worn in that room.

    Larry Flanagan, General secretary, EIS

  14. Is it safe for Scotland's pupils and teachers to go back to school?

    Boy washing his handsGetty Images

    Schools re beginning to reopen after being closed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Children won't need to socially distance - although they will need to follow hygiene rules

    But how safe will pupils and teachers be?

    Read our full analysis here

  15. Pupils in the Borders and Shetland begin return to the classroom

    Pupil going to schoolGetty Images

    Scotland's pupils will begin returning to their classrooms later for the first time since the start of the lockdown nearly five months ago.

    Schools in the Borders and Shetland will be first to reopen with most local authorities following on Wednesday.

    Physical distancing among students will not generally be required but hygiene and safety measures such as one-way systems have been put in place.

    Most of the country's 700,000 pupils have not been at school since 20 March.

    .Read more

  16. Catch up with the headlines from Monday

    Coronavirus: Nicola Sturgeon says 'sorry' for Scottish exam results

    Her's a quick recap of the main headlines from yesterday's Scottish government briefing.

    • People may be confusing the symptoms of lung cancer with Covid-19 and the interim CMO calls on people with symptoms to contact the NHS or their GP
    • The first minister urges everyone to follow the FACTS advice including Boris Johnson who is reported to be coming to Scotland on holiday.

  17. Good morning

    boyGetty Images

    Welcome to another day of live coverage of how coronavirus is affecting Scotland - with the reopening of some of Scotland's schools and the ongoing exam results row among the major talking points.