Dunlop offers congratulations as exam results arrive

Responding to today's exam results which saw minor improvements in pass rates but National 5s, Highers and Advance Highers all remaining lower than in 2016, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Duncan Dunlop MSP said:

"First of all, I would like to congratulate all of those who have worked so hard to get their results today and all of Scotland's teachers for their dedication to educating our young people.

"As we look ahead to next year there can be no room for complacency. The new Education Secretary needs to address the teacher job mismatch, make sure kids are learning skills that equip them for the future and finally deliver on efforts to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap.

"Over the next twelve months, Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue to argue for 2,000 more pupil support assistants and specialist support such as 370 new speech and language therapists as well as legislation to make classrooms mobile phone-free. That's the direction of travel we need to be going in."