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Exam Success for Academy Students

STUDENTS AT Stranraer Academy have achieved an all-time high in exam success at standard grade. The school has recorded figures of just short of 30 per cent of pupils gaining five credits or more. And rector Jimmy Higgins, is confident that once the appeals procedure has been gone through, that amount will rise.

Last year's figure was 22 per cent and according to Mr Higgins, out of the 130 schools in Scotland with pupil numbers similar to Stranraer, only one achieved a higher swing and that took them to their best-ever level.

The same swing has been recorded at general level also and the rector claims that in recent years there has been a trend towards pupils who had achieved foundation grades now moving up to general and those gaining general moving up to credit.

"We are quite pleased with that", he said.

At Highers level there has been what Mr Higgins described as "quite a significant increase" in numbers of pupils gaining three or more.

Last year the figure was 12 per cent, this year 18 per cent. " This represents a 50 per cent increase", he said.