• Next year's Higher and Advanced Highers exams are to be cancelled in Scottish schools

• Meanwhile students' return to universities after Christmas will be staggered

• All 11 areas living under Scotland's toughest level four coronavirus restrictions are to be downgraded to level three
• It has also been confirmed that three level three areas - Inverclyde, Falkirk and Angus - will move down to level two
• And both Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders will move to level one from level two
• All of the country's other council areas will remain in their current levels. Read more here

• Nicola Sturgeon urged people to "continue to exercise care and caution"
• Travel restrictions will remain in place, meaning that people should not travel in or out of level three areas unless it is essential
• Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother, was the first person in the UK to be given the new Covid vaccine
• In Scotland the first vaccinations have taken place in Edinburgh
• The Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is safe and effective, giving good protection, researchers have confirmed in The Lancet, external journal

That's all from us here on the live page today. Please take care and stay safe.

Image source, BBC Scotland

Thomas, an S6 pupil at Govan High School in Glasgow is studying for Highers in PE and Biology and an Advanced Higher in Music.

He’s previously had to self-isolate after being in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid.

He said “Missing valuable time in school due to having to self-isolate has impacted me and others in my year, so I feel a bit relieved about the exams being cancelled.”

Carly, another S6 pupil, is studying Advanced Higher History, Higher Modern Studies and Higher Care and is hoping to do nursing at university.

She said: “It’s been hard learning this year. I’ve had to isolate once but some of my friends have had to isolate two or three times.

"I feel relieved that exams are cancelled because now I can focus on my studies and put all my effort into the tests and getting evidence."

"I can make sure that I am getting everything done that I need to and not just working towards something that’s not going to happen.”

Scottish Greens education spokesman Ross Greer says his party called for all 2021 exams to be cancelled so they welcome today’s announcement.

He says Mr Swinney cannot let the SQA repeat their approach to National 5s with Highers and Advanced Highers, because the SQA has created a system which has added "a significant workload" for teachers, and questions whether this is fair to ask of teachers.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie says it would have been unfair to proceed with exams while thousands faced disruption to their learning.

Scottish Conservatives education spokesman Jamie Greene said after “months of dither and delay”, the decision to cancel Higher or Advanced Higher Exams will come as a “disappointment to those who believe that exams offer consistency, fairness and a level playing field statement”.

He adds that Mr Swinney’s statement does “not make good on promises” but is instead “an admission of “complete failure”.

Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray tells the chamber these decisions “make sense but yet again have been made very late”.

University students have already been returning home, unsure of how and when they will be able to return, he says, while pupils are sitting prelims for exams that will now not take place.

The education secretary says he intends to make an exceptional one-off payment to teachers and lecturers who are critical to assessing and marking N5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses this year.

He asks that secondary schools prioritise all remaining in-service day time to work together on this alternative model of certification for national qualifications.

He says: "I will not stake the future of our Higher pupils – whether they get a place at college, university, training or work – on a lottery of whether their school was hit by Covid."

Mr Swinney insists the government has sought to protect learning even in the midst of a pandemic, whilst keeping people safe.

The deputy first minister tells the chamber the level of disruption to learners at schools has not been equal.

Mr Swinney points out almost 40% of those who were not in school for more than one fifth of school openings for a Covid-related reason in S4 were from Scotland's poorest communities.

In S5 it is 33%, and in S6 it is 26%.

He stresses the government cannot guarantee that there will be no further disruption to pupils’ learning.

The education secretary adds: "We need a model that is more flexible to the specific circumstances of the individual pupil.

"That model exists. It is the model we plan to use to award qualification this year for National 5s."

He insists no algorithm will be used, rather the model will be based on learner evidence to deliver a credible and fair set of results.

"I am therefore announcing today that there will be no Higher or Advanced Higher exams in 2021."

Mr Swinney says undergraduate students will restart their studies at home, at the normal beginning of term, and should only return to campus and their term-time accommodation when asked to do so by their university.

The government is also asking students to voluntarily restrict their social interaction for two weeks before they return to university and for two weeks following their return.

Students will again be offered lateral flow testing as part of their return.

John Swinney confirms there will be no Higher or Advanced Higher exams in 2021.

He says grades will be based on teacher judgement of evidence of learner attainment.

Mr Swinney says this better recognises the reality of the disruption so many pupils have had to their learning.

Mr Swinney turns to the return of students to Scotland's colleges and universities.

Universities and colleges have already delivered more than 20,000 rapid-result tests to students looking to return home, he says.

College students should return as planned, in line with the protection level for the area their college is in at that time, outlines the cabinet secretary.

However universities are in a different position and require a different approach he adds.

Mr Swinney says at the start of the new term, universities’ return will be staggered over at least six weeks.

Education Secretary John Swinney reminds us there will be no change to the Christmas school holidays.

He points out the evidence makes clear that school closures result in significant harms to our children and young people.

Mr Swinney points out members of school staff can currently get a coronavirus test whether or not they have symptoms.

He says after schools return in January, the government will begin piloting routine asymptomatic testing of school staff.

Image source, PA MEDIA

We will now find out what is happening with next year's Highers and Advanced Higher exams.

Education Secretary John Swinney will provide an update on the exams and on the return of students after the Christmas holidays.

Next year's National 5 exams have already been cancelled. Instead they are being decided on what the government is calling "teacher judgement supported by assessment".

At the time the government said a contingency plan was in place should Highers not go ahead.

Wales has already made the decision to cancel all exams next year, while England has said they will go ahead.

If Highers are scrapped, following on from this year's cancellation, it will mean many of Scotland's pupils will leave school without having ever sat a formal exam.

• All 11 areas living under Scotland's toughest level four coronavirus restrictions are to be downgraded to level three
• It has also been confirmed that three level three areas - Inverclyde, Falkirk and Angus - will move down to level two
• And both Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders will move to level one from level two
• All of the country's other council areas will remain in their current levels. Read more here
• What are the latest Covid rules in Scotland?
• What level is your council area in?

• Nicola Sturgeon urged people to "continue to exercise care and caution"
• Travel restrictions will remain in place, meaning that people should not travel in or out of level three areas unless it is essential
• Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother, was the first person in the UK to be given the new Covid vaccine
• In Scotland the first vaccinations have taken place in Edinburgh
• An announcement about next year's Highers and Advanced Higher exams is next.

Scottish Lib-Dem leader Willie Rennie also believes some “puzzling decisions” have been made in some areas, such as Midlothian, Edinburgh, Perth and Kinross, and Fife, which he says have been “consistently in level two indicators” but are stuck in higher levels.

He asks the first minister if she is considering reviewing the indicators to make them more in line with the judgements she is making?

Nicola Sturgeon says any genuine, reasonable look across every area would show the indicators have not been abandoned.

She says she will review the content of the levels and indicators, to see if any modifications are necessary into and through the Christmas period.

Ms Sturgeon points out that in Midlothian, cases have increased by 16% in recent days while Fife has seen a 3% increase in cases and there has been no significant reduction in Perth and Kinross.

Patrick Harvie says it is clear the reduction in virus transmission is nothing close to the level of suppression we saw during the summer.

The Scottish Green Party co-convener points out elsewhere in the UK schools will be allowed to close early, to ensure no teacher can be contact traced on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

He asks if the Scottish government will follow suit.

The first minister explains the balances the government has been trying to strike between lockdown measures and their wider implications.

Ms Sturgeon says the fine detail of the levels system will be reviewed over the next couple of weeks.

She says arrangements around the school holidays are finally balanced and points ahead to John Swinney's statement at 15:50.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard says people find it hard to understand how decisions have been made in relation to certain areas.

He asks why Edinburgh is staying at level three when data shows infection rates are under greater control than in other parts of country.

Nicola Sturgeon says it would be much easier to put the entire country under a national set of restrictions, but it would be “fundamentally wrong”.

She says the cabinet “agonised” over the City of Edinburgh and understands the frustration of people in the capital, but says there has been a rise in cases in recent days, and she thinks today’s figure is second only to Glasgow.

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives in Holyrood, says the first vaccinations being delivered today give a “real sense of light at the end of the tunnel”.

But for individuals and businesses in areas which are still living under tight restrictions, Ms Davidson says it is a “bitter, bitter pill”.

She says the first minister announced a £30m discretionary fund three weeks ago for some of those hardest hit, and asks why it hasn’t been released yet, and when it will be.

Nicola Sturgeon says the fund allocation has been agreed with local authorities and Finance Secretary Kate Forbes will set out additional support measures for businesses tomorrow.

Ms Sturgeon says “there is more we need to do and are determined to do that”, but recognises that some will feel frustrated at their areas not being moved to levels that may help their business in the run-up to Christmas.

But the first minister warns that it doesn’t do business any favours for the government to move too quickly, as an early relaxation of measures “can do deeper and longer-lasting damage”.

The first minister says our priority must surely be on doing everything we can to ensure that when we reach the summer "all of our loved ones are there with us".

She calls on us all to continue to be very cautious in the weeks and months ahead.

"All of us should be thinking about how we can avoid creating opportunities for the virus to jump from one household to the next."

As ever she concludes reiterating her call for all of us to follow the guidance, rules and of course FACTS:

Image source, Scottish government

Ms Sturgeon says today is a day of optimism for all of us, but the end of the pandemic is not quite with us yet.

The first minister says we will face tough choices in the coming weeks about seeing friends and family indoors or outside.

She explains this is why the rules over the Christmas period recognise this inevitability and give advice on how to stay as safe as possible.

The first minister quotes the Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, who she says she thinks sums up the situation we are in now extremely well:

“If we winter this one out, we can summer anywhere”.