Mornings with Stephen Jardine
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

The decision to upgrade the results of Scottish school pupils was a good one, according to an independent education consultant.

Ken Cunningham tells Mornings With Stephen Jardine how the way the exam grades were originally handled was "a bit of a disgrace".

"It was the process that was entirely at fault this year."

Since then John Swinney has of course announced tens of thousands of school pupils are to have their exam results upgraded and their teacher estimates of scores accepted.

Mr Cunningham backs the move by the education secretary.

Thousands of pupils have been returning to classes at schools in the Highlands on what would have been their last full week of the summer holidays.

Eight primaries out of 203 schools across the Highland Council area have not opened, including Mallaig, Tore and Kyleakin.

The local authority said staff were working hard to have all schools open by 18 August.

It said those not open on Wednesday would do so once cleaning and health and safety checks were done, adding: "Safety and well-being is paramount for children and staff."

Education Secretary John Swinney has told BBC Radio Scotland that he told the SQA in March that they should create a model to maintain standards when exams were cancelled because of the Coronavirus lockdown.

Officials from the Scottish Qualifictions Authority will shortly give evidence to Holyrood's education committee.

Image source, PA Media

Teachers will be seeing double in one local authority area as nine sets of twins start school.

The 18 pupils will enter primary one in Inverclyde on Wednesday, with eight of the sets posing for photographs on Tuesday.

A total of 16 sets of twins were eligible to start school in the area this month but the parents of seven pairs decided to defer till next year.

Inverclyde Council said the area is increasingly a hotspot for twins, with the incidence of multiple births in 2015 - the year the majority of this year's new starts were born - at 2.25% locally compared to the Scottish average of 1.15% of live births.

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish pupils are returning to the classroom this week for the first time since schools closed in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Schools in the Borders and Shetland opened on Tuesday, with most others going back from today - but how safe will pupils and teachers be?

Read our full analysis here

Mornings with Stephen Jardine
BBC Radio Scotland

So Scottish school pupils are to have their exam results upgraded and the teacher estimates of their scores accepted.

That's the topic of today's phone-in on Mornings With Stephen Jardine.

The government U-turn follows an outcry from pupils after a moderation system saw 125,000 estimated results being downgraded.

• Read more here

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

John Swinney says that contingency plans will be prepared in case exams are disrupted next spring.

He told BBC Scotland that the SQA was consulting on "various changes" to the current approach to exams that would "reduce the burden of examination" on young people.

The Scottish government has also asked Professor Mark Priestley from Stirling University to carry out an independent review of the events which followed the cancellation of exams this year.

Mr Swinney said the findings of this review would be applied to any contingency plans that would be prepared in case learning or exams were disrupted during the coming academic year.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

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Asked if the results chaos could have been avoided, John Swinney said the SQA had delivered results based on a model that was developed over "many weeks and months".

The education secretary said he had directed the SQA in March to create a model that maintained standards.

He told Good Morning Scotland that the SQA had "fulfilled that mandate", but after relecting and listening to feedback he decided to change the position "as quickly as I possibly could do".

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

The education secretary has defended his delay in responding to concerns over the exam results.

John Swinney said it was right he waited to announce to the Scottish Parliament why the Scottish government was taking a different approach.

"I thought it was important that I made that statement to parliament, to where I am accountable as a minister, to explain openly and honestly why we were taking a different stance. I think that’s a right thing for me to do," he said.

There was an outcry from pupils and parents after a moderation system saw 125,000 estimated results being downgraded.

Mr Swinney told Good Morning Scotland that the Scottish government had to recognise that 2020 was an “absolutely unique and extraordinary year”.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

The Scottish Conservatives’ education spokesperson, Jamie Greene, says the results row in Scotland is the last in an “endless catalogue of failures” for Education Secretary John Swinney.

He told BBC Good Morning Scotland that political opponents had tabled a motion of no confidnce in Mr Swinney after a series of U-turns over blended learning, the education bill and funded childcare.

Tens of thousands of school pupils are to have their exam results upgraded after the Scottish government agreed to accept teacher estimates of scores.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

MSPs wil quiz the SQA later today on John Swinney's decision that downgraded results will be scrapped and instead will be based on initial teacher judgement.

Holyrood's education committee will take evidence from:

• SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson
• SQA director of qualifications Dr Gill Stewart

Join us here on the live page for extensive coverage of the evidence session from 10am.

Image source, Getty Images

A cluster of five coronavirus cases in north-east Angus is being investigated, according to NHS Tayside.

Dr David Chandler, the health board's associate director of public health, said the positive cases were connected and one had a direct link to the Aberdeen outbreak.

All of those affected have mild symptoms and none has required medical care, he added.

A further 54 people have been identified as contacts and they have been given advice on self-isolating and offered testing where appropriate.

"There is currently no evidence of wider community spread in Angus or elsewhere in Tayside," Dr Chandler said.

"No individual premises, businesses or establishments are currently linked to the ongoing investigation."

The local lockdown imposed in Aberdeen a week ago after a spike in coronavirus cases is due for review later.

Since last Wednesday, pubs and restaurants have been closed and restrictions on travel and visiting other households have been in place.

So far, 165 cases have been linked to the cluster and 875 contacts of infected people have been traced.

The first minister has said it will not last longer than necessary, but she has not ruled out an extension.

Image source, Getty Images

Pupils will return to more of Scotland's schools today - many of whom have not been in since lockdown began nearly five months ago.

For the first time since 20 March, schools across the country will welcome children back.

Many schools will have pupils return on a phased basis.

While councils have been given some flexibility over pupils' return, the Scottish government wants all schools fully open by 18 August.

To kick things off, here's a recap of the headlines from yesterday - on a historic day for Scottish education.

• Tens of thousands of school pupils are to have their exam results upgraded after the Scottish government agreed to accept teacher estimates of scores.
• The government u-turn follows an outcry from pupils after a moderation system saw 125,000 estimated results being downgraded
• The move affects about 75,000 pupils across Scotland.
• All results that were downgraded will now be withdrawn and replaced by the original estimates.

• Some of Scotland's pupils returned to classes for the first time since lockdown began nearly five months ago
• Meanwhile Nicola Sturgeon issued a "yellow card" warning to Scottish football as Celtic and Aberdeen matches were called off after their players broke lockdown rules
• The number of people in work in Scotland fell by 15,000 between April and June as the impact of lockdown hit
• The lockdown restrictions currently in place in Aberdeen will be reviewed tomorrow

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to Wednesday's live coverage of how coronavirus is affecting Scotland.

The Scottish government's U-turn on school exam grades dominated the news yesterday. Today also has an education theme as more pupils return to school for the first time since lockdown restrictions were introduced in March.