Edinburgh learners are also out-performing their virtual comparators in Literacy and Numeracy for all stages and levels.

A virtual comparator is a sample of students from other areas of Scotland who have similar characteristics to a school’s students.

The news builds on the SQA exam results in August showing levels of attainment for pupils across Edinburgh remaining above those achieved before the Covid pandemic.

Insight provides teachers and lecturers with a summary of how learners have performed in their exams and coursework for each subject at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level over the past year.

Councillor Joan Griffiths, Education Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said:

“This has been another positive year for our pupils. I want to congratulate them, as well as all our teaching and support staff. Their hard work has certainly paid off and praise should go to them as well as all the parents and carers who have supported the children.

“I welcome the results from the SQA Insights report. We have invested heavily in improving the skills of our workforce and I’m confident that our staff will continue to improve the quality of teaching and learning to meet the needs of the city’s young people.

“Let’s not forget there is no wrong pathway for our young people as everyone’s learner journey is different. School is about ensuring all our young people are able to fulfil their potential by attaining the highest level of achievements possible and by receiving the best possible experience. We want all our learners to find their pathways into the world of higher and further education, employment or training and to narrow the gap between those living in different areas of affluence.”

Course reports – written by principal assessors and principal verifiers – are published to give an insight into how learners performed, detailing which areas of the course assessment where learners performed well, and which areas proved to be more demanding.

Principal assessors and other senior appointees are experienced teachers and lecturers who work with SQA to produce the course reports and highlight examples where candidates have performed well in their external assessments.

The reports also contain advice for teachers, lecturers, and training practitioners on preparing learners for the coming year’s assessments, as well as statistical data relating to grade boundaries.