Educational attainment continues to rise in West Lothian.
The Education Executive was presented with an update on the results of the council’s Raising Attainment Strategy, which sets out the good work being done to raise attainment and narrow the poverty-related attainment gap.
West Lothian pupils are performing better than comparable students in other local authorities and the national averages in a number of key areas.
These include: S4 pupils in West Lothian are outperforming comparable students in areas such as numeracy Level 4 and 5, and literacy Level 4.
In S4, S5 and S6, West Lothian pupils are outperforming comparable students and the national average for SCQF Level 5, which includes National 5, and Level 6, which includes Higher.
S6 pupils in West Lothian are leaving school with more qualifications than the national average.
EIS local secretary, Heather Hughes, said: “I’d like to offer congratulations to everybody involved in education in West Lothian. I think we forget that this starts at the very earliest stage, in primary schools. Congratulations to every single teacher, pupil support worker, early years worker and education officer. It’s fantastic.”
Councillor Kirsteen Sullivan said: “What this really means is improving life chances for our young people.”
Executive councillor for education David Dodds said: “It’s fantastic to see attainment continuing to rise in West Lothian with our hard-working pupils achieving more than ever before.
“We saw exam performance improve for the seventh consecutive year in West Lothian in August, thanks to efforts of our pupils and the support they receive from teaching staff and parents/carers.
“We are determined to give every young person every opportunity to have the best possible start in life, and measuring performance like this is vital as it helps us understand where additional support is required to achieve this.”
