THIS time of the year is a time of change at schools across Inverclyde and up and down the country. 

For the new P1s it marks the beginning of their life at school and for another, older cohort it marks the end — the transition to employment, training or the next stage in their education.

This summer’s exam results marked a record year of attainment in Inverclyde, with Higher students achieving some of the best levels of performance ever recorded at local schools.

The number of Inverclyde pupils gaining three or five Highers in S5 is the highest ever. In S6 almost two out of three local pupils are leaving school with at least one Higher qualification.

New opportunities have been opened up for both school leavers and those continuing their studies. Recognition has been earned too, a reward for the hard work pupils have put in over many years, with support from their parents and teachers.

Never underestimate the importance of investing in education — not just learners investing their time and their energies in their own studies, but government investing in our schools.

These are tough times for Inverclyde. Services are under pressure and council budgets are being squeezed. Teachers are having to deliver new qualifications and prepare young people for exams in what the Education Institute of Scotland call “extremely challenging circumstances.”

Despite those challenges, Inverclyde Council has been able to provide support to schools and drive forward the modernisation of the school estate.

Secondary schools have been totally transformed and now the council are working through a programme of rebuilding and refurbishing Inverclyde’s primaries.
There is more to be done.

There is progress still to be made. Yet the success of Inverclyde pupils serves as an example to the rest of the country of what can be achieved locally.

For those who didn’t get the results they hoped for, there are a number of opportunities and sources of advice available to you and we need to ensure there is adequate funding in place to deliver the widest possible range of further education and training places for all pupils, regardless of well they did in their exams.

Right now in Scotland the proportion of the Scottish budget going towards education is falling, the attainment gap between the richest pupils and the rest remains stubborn and there are 4,000 fewer teachers working in Scottish classrooms. That has to change.

The SNP government tell us that education is their number one priority. When the Scottish Parliament returns from its summer recess in the next couple of weeks they will be challenged to prove it.