Helpline to ease exam result worries
Exam results day is always a daunting occasion for any young person.
I can remember opening my brown envelope for my O Level results and how nervous I was. That was a few of years ago of course, when there was no such thing as mobile phones, never mind getting your results by text.
It was those very texts which sparked my visit to our national exam results helpline in Glasgow, run by Skills Development Scotland, on Wednesday.
Housed in the Essentia complex, even only a few hours after the results were issued by text and email, the helpline was a hive of activity with dozens of calls coming in.
Michael Russell joins Lyndsay Plews at the Exam call centre
The centre is manned by around 80 skilled advisers, one of whom was Lyndsay Plews, an experienced call handler, who advised me on the kind of calls coming in.
For example, there were pupils wondering whether their conditional offers would still apply, or those who had fallen short of their expectations and were unsure of the options available to them.
Even questions as simple as wanting the contact details for UCAS were being handled and quizzical parents were also advised on what their children could do next.
I offer my congratulations to every single young person who has done well and there are a lot of them. And I would say to those who haven’t done as well as expected, don’t despair. There is help and support available. The national exam helpline can offer much in the way of assistance and guidance.
There is also a raft of support in terms of finding jobs, modern apprenticeships or work experience, again from Skills Development Scotland. We know that the economic climate is putting extra pressure on our young people. We announced a programme called Step Forward Scotland a few months ago which aims to ‘matchmake’ young people with employers.
I would urge any parent, young person or business interested in finding out more about these opportunities to visit Step Forward Scotland online.
Overall, this year’s results are hugely encouraging, particularly a new record pass rate for Highers. New qualifications in Mandarin and Cantonese, and the first ever Scottish Baccalaureates demonstrate that our education system is developing for the future.
Of course, Education systems can always be improved upon, and I feel the roll out of Curriculum for Excellence from this term will result in our young people being even better equipped for the challenges of modern adult life.
For now though, I want to focus on the efforts of Scotland’s young people in the past year in achieving these excellent results.
A sincere and huge thanks is owed to teachers, parents, examiners and the Scottish Qualification Authority. And let’s not forget the hard-working staff at the Skills Development Scotland running the national exam helpline.
The helpline number is 0808 100 8000 and it’s open until August 28.
I would urge any pupil who has a question about their results to get in touch.
Michael Russell Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning
1 comment
Thank you for your encouraging comments about the Mandarin and Cantonese results, Cabinet Secretary. The uniformly successful candidates who passed the new Higher and Advanced Higher Chinese language courses deserve great congratulations as pioneers in an area that is new and of high importance for the young people of Scotland. Only four years ago the Scottish Government Education Directorate, SQA, HMIe, LTS, GTCS, Moray House School of Education, the British Council Scotland and SCEN came together to build the foundations of teaching courses and recognition, curriculum and qualifications to introduce the study of Chinese languages and China into Scottish schools. In that same year of 2006 the first Scottish Plan for Stronger Engagement with China was published, which recognised the key importance of education and hoped that in 2010 there would be 200 pupils in Scotland taking qualifications in Chinese. In fact the SQA has announced that there were 244 entries this year, from Access to Advanced Higher. It is a great tribute to the SQA that they have developed these qualifications so successfully and openly. The foundations are now laid for the future: we have the Confucius Institute for Scotland at the University of Edinburgh, trained Teachers of Chinese who have reached the Standard for Full Registration and more being trained and inducted, and ten Confucius Classroom Hubs across the country. This is only the start. Research in Australia, which has been pursuing the China in education agenda for two decades, shows that it is very demanding to embed Chinese in the curriculum of schools and to make it attractive to pupils. In particular, it needs leadership from Headteachers and great support for the teachers who will engage pupils in the classroom. The Scottish Government’s Education Directorate is leading the China strategy and LTS is developing the network of Confucius Classroom Hubs, and as we pursue the aim of giving all Scottish pupils the opportunity to learn Chinese language and about China, we have to do so in a very difficult financial climate. It is important that we are inspired by these Higher and Advanced Higher candidates who had the courage to learn a challenging language because they recognise how important it is for the future.