A determined young campaigner was shocked when her name was read out in parliament during the Scottish Government’s dramatic exam results U-turn.
Erin Bleakley tearfully told of her joy after Education Secretary John Swinney announced all downgraded results would be reverted back to those predicted by teachers.
The 17-year-old organised a rally in George Square last week after the SQA exam board used a system to 'normalise' the results which left thousands of young people with grades lower than those predicted by their teachers.
Erin, from Shettleston in Glasgow, had held a banner in George Square reading “Judge my work not my postcode” as those from working class areas were more disproportionately affected by the moderation system.
When the remarkable U-turn was announced yesterday, Erin was almost lost for words.
She told the Daily Record: “It just feels really unbelievable.
“We thought we would get some sort of attention but never thought it would get this far.
“I thought maybe there would be a different system or a longer process but never believed this would happen.
“I never thought there would be a complete U-turn like this, it just seems completely incredible. I feel elated.”
Erin attends St Andrew's High School in Carntyne, Glasgow, which was identified earlier this year as the second most deprived area in the country, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Under the moderation system, the pass rate of pupils in the most deprived data zones was reduced by 15.2% from teacher estimates after the exam board's moderation.
In contrast, the pass rate for pupils from the most affluent backgrounds dropped by 6.9%.
As a result, Erin was downgraded on four out of six of her Highers.
She received a D in maths and chemistry despite achieving an A in the maths prelim and being predicted Cs.
For Geography she was predicted an A and got a B and for Biology her predicted B was downgraded to a C.
Reflecting on the injustice, Erin said: “Our feelings were not really taken into consideration at the start.
“The uproar of pupils, teachers and parents is the reason we were heard.
“A week is a long time but it’s not long when you consider our futures ahead.”
Erin, who has dreams of studying vet medicine, is starting S6 on Thursday with a positive outlook for the future.
She said: “One of our main points was that we were not just asking for As all round, we were asking for fair grades.
“I achieved an A in the maths prelim but my teacher predicted a C which shows they were being tough and not too generous like some have said.
“These marks now reflect what our teachers know we can achieve.”
Making his speech to parliament, Swinney acknowledged the fact that 2020 was a year like no other and said the system “did not fully understand the trauma of Covid-19 for this year group”.
Erin said the circumstances of the pandemic are something which should have been considered originally.
She said: “I think that should have been taken into consideration right from the beginning.
“It had a huge effect on the education system for so many people.
“I’m glad that it was acknowledged today.”
Erin sat with mum Angela when Swinney named her in his speech to parliament.
Addressing MSPs the education secretary said Erin was one of the inspiring young people he had listened to before announcing the U-uurn.
Erin’s tearful mum Angela couldn’t contain her joy as she told how proud she was of her daughter’s determination.
She told the Daily Record: “No one could be prouder than I am right now.
“I’m just over the moon, I’m overjoyed.
“These are the results she should have got last week and I’m so glad she has done what was right.
“The two of us were sitting watching the news when John Swinney said her name we just thought wow!”
Erin added: “Being named was a shock. I was just all over the place.”
