SQA School Examination Results 2025
Argyll and Bute Council · 28 August 2025
Back to Community Services Committee — 28 August 2025 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 28 AUGUST 2025 SQA SCHOOL EXAMINATION RESULTS 2025 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide an update to elected members on the initial outcome of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) 2025 examination diet for young people in Argyll and Bute. 1.2 Following the release of the initial examination results by the SQA in August, awards for pupils in academic year 2024/25 will be updated by the SQA in December 2025 following the processing of appeal requests submitted by candidates or schools. As a consequence of the decisions associated with these requests, minor changes to the statistical data contained within this report may occur. 1.3 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee: I. Notes the guidance from the SQA, detailed below at 4.3, about qualitative comparisons of data over recent years. II. Notes the outcome of the initial SQA examination results for pupils in academic year 2024/25, and that the performance of Argyll and Bute Schools in 2025 is above the current national performance of local authority run schools in SQA examinations in one measure at A-C (Adv Higher), and above in two measures at A-D (National 5 and Higher). Within the authority, performance against 2024 improved in four of six pass rate measures (National 5 and Higher at both A-C and A-D). Presentation rates for at both National 5 and Higher levels increased. Twinned with increased pass rates, this year’s diet saw an overall increase in the number of awards per presenting pupil. III. Requests that the Executive Director provide further reports to the Community Services Committee to allow the consideration of updated statistical school and national information, scheduled to be released by Insight (school data analysis tool) in September 2025 and February 2026.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 28 AUGUST 2025 SQA SCHOOL EXAMINATION RESULTS 2025 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 On 31st July 2025 the Council received SQA examination results for all pupils entered for National Qualifications in session 2024/25. This provided initial information on the outcome of examination performance for all pupils in each of the ten Argyll and Bute secondary schools. 2.2 The purpose of this report is to inform Elected Members of the initial outcome of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) 2025 awards for young people in Argyll and Bute. A range of statistical information is provided illustrating performance of pupils across three graded National Qualification measures: • National 5 • Higher • Advanced Higher As has been the case in previous years, most of the data in this initial attainment report has been sourced from SEEMiS Business Intelligence Course Awards data. Comparisons with national figures and other authorities have been using SQA provided data which was published on results day (5th August 2025). 3. RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee: I. Notes the guidance from the SQA, detailed below at 4.3, about qualitative comparisons of data over the last four years, with reference to ‘pre-pandemic’ data in 2018/19. II. Notes the outcome of the initial SQA examination results for pupils in academic year 2024/25, and that the performance of Argyll and Bute Schools in 2025 is above the current national performance of local authority run schools in SQA examinations in one measure at A-C (Adv Higher), and above in two measures at A-D (National 5 and Higher). Within the authority, performance against 2024 improved in four of six pass rate measures (National 5 and Higher at both A-C and A-D). Presentation rates for both National 5 and Higher levels increased. Twinned with increased pass rates, this year’s diet saw an overall increase in the number of awards per presenting pupil.
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III. Requests that the Executive Director provide further reports to the Community Services Committee to allow the consideration of updated statistical school and national information, scheduled to be released by Insight (school data analysis tool) in September 2025 and February 2026. 4. DETAIL 4.1 Pupils in each of the ten secondary schools in Argyll and Bute in S4–S6 were presented for a range of SQA qualifications in May and June of 2024. Six secondary schools also presented S3 pupils for national qualifications. Following the release of awards, Education Services conducted an initial analysis of the results to support the preparation of a summary report for presentation to, and consideration by, Elected Members. 4.2 This paper presents a summary overview of the examination outcomes and draws comparisons of the overall attainment of pupils in Argyll and Bute with pupils nationally. The report begins by exploring presentation rates for all national qualifications before examining pass rates. To holistically assess performance, pass rates and presentation rates have been synthesised into an awards per pupil metric. This allows us to compare the breadth of attainment of the average pupil across cohorts. Initial analysis of attainment gaps and comparison to national attainment gaps is also presented before the report explores how Argyll and Bute performance relates to other local authorities. Headline data is also presented for our care experienced young people (CEYP). 4.3 Pandemic related disruption has meant that the ways in which our young people have been assessed has changed over the last 6 diets (2020-2025). For this reason, comparison between years is limited in some areas, with the SQA urging caution in assessing performance between years. The SQA summarise the last 6 years of assessment changes as follows1: In 2020, the Deputy First Minister directed SQA to issue grades, primarily on the basis of teacher estimates. Grades that had been adjusted upwards in an earlier moderation process were also retained. In 2021, The Scottish Government commissioned SQA to develop an Alternative Certification Model (ACM 2021) for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. The model was based on teacher judgement, supported by assessment resources and quality assurance. Throughout 2022, SQA worked with partners across the education sector (including teachers, lecturers, learners, parents and carers) to agree the wide-ranging package of support that was put in place to enable learners to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do, despite the disruption to learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. SQA implemented various modifications and revision support to reduce the assessment requirements for courses and increase learning and teaching time. 1 Full information on the changes to assessment approaches between 2020 and 2025 can be found here: Attainment Statistical Summary 2025 - SQA
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In 2023, awarding operated using the established procedure, as far as possible, in order to evaluate the performance of the course assessment, but with consideration given to the following factors: • impact of the reducing legacy of disruption to teaching and learning caused by the pandemic • impact of modifications to course assessment • impact of the removal of revision support Awarding decisions were therefore ‘sensitive’ to these factors, ensuring that grade boundary decisions recognised that performance continues to be impacted. This was informed by the full range of qualitative and quantitative data used during awarding, with additional data from 2021–22 on the impact of modifications. In 2024, awarding used the well-established procedures to evaluate the performance of the course assessment and, where appropriate, considered the impact of changes to assessment brought about by the return to full course assessment for many courses. These changes to assessment included the removal of optionality in some question papers and the reintroduction of: • coursework components (projects, assignments, dissertations) • optional content into question papers • course content examined in question papers • an exam component From 2025, SQA returned to well-established awarding procedures, in line with our Awarding and Grading for National Courses Policy, which is available on the background information webpage. Users of these statistics should be mindful of the above information when comparing figures from different years. As the above describes, there have been significantly different approaches to course content, coursework and awarding between 2020 and 2025. This means that comparisons of attainment between years should be treated with significant caution and do not allow for conclusions to be drawn on changes in education performance during this time. For this reason, the results from 2020 and 2021 have been omitted entirely from this report as they were not achieved by an examination diet. Comparisons to 2019 (the last pre-pandemic diet) and 2024 are emphasised throughout this report as being the most appropriate diets to compare against. 4.4 This report has used a different pass rate calculation methodology to previous versions of these school examination results. This is to fully capture the performance of all young people who were presented for national qualifications and to align to national methodologies which are used to produce nationwide pass rate figures. Firstly, Skills for Work courses which are ungraded have not been included in the pass rates below. Whilst performance in these courses is consistently very high, as they are ungraded passes they do not qualify as A-C or A-D grade passes. In prior years these passes were included in both A-C and A-D pass rates. Secondly, pass rates at a national level are published regardless of the stage of the pupil. Previous reports presented pass rates on S4-S6 pupils only and omitted the performance of a relatively small number of S3 pupils. At an authority level, the inclusion of S3 pupils in pass rate calculations only makes a small difference to percentage figures. However, at individual establishment level, these changes can be meaningful. Furthermore, it would be unfair to
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exclude an establishments S3 data in their own school and authority’s pass rate whilst it had contributed to the national pass rate. In the data provided below this new approach to calculation has been applied to previous years data. As such, pass rates for previous sessions will look slightly different to what was reported in previous versions of this report. These updated figures do mean that the comparison to national pass rates is now more appropriate at both authority and school levels. 4.5 Presentations In session 2024/25, the number of presentations for each level and stage across National 4, National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications were as follows: Of 8466 total presentations, 98.4% came from pupils in S4-S6 stages. A small number of pupils are presented prior to S4, with 6 schools presenting pupils in S3. Our young people can be presented at different levels throughout their chosen senior phase pathway. This allows a young person to undertake subjects at different levels of qualification simultaneously, such as a mixture of National 4 and 5 in S4, a mixture of Higher and National 5 in S5 and a mixture of Advanced Higher and Higher in S6. The numbers of pupils presented at each stage in the SQA 2025 presentations are as follows: Stage Number of Pupils S1 1 S3 35 S4 814 S5 634 S6 413 S9 4 Grand Total 1901 The table below shows the numbers of pupils who presented for each presentation type and the number of national qualifications they sat. A comparison to 2024 is given for context: 2024 2025 Presentation Type Number of Pupils Number of Presentations Number of Pupils Number of Presentations National 5 1173 4340 1202 4608 Higher 853 2176 854 2429 Advanced Higher 205 314 166 255 Presentation Type S1 S3 S4 S5 S6 S9 Total Presentations National 4 68 994 102 10 1174 National 5 1 56 3817 518 216 4608 Higher 1 23 1779 621 5 2429 Advanced Higher 7 248 255
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• The number of presentations at National 5 and Higher was greater than in 2024, whilst Advanced Higher numbers fell slightly. At Higher the 2025 cohort was almost the same size as the 2024 cohort but had 253 extra presentations. 4.6 Presentation Rates The total number of presentations divided by the number of pupils presented gives us a presentation rate. The presentation rate provides us with a means of monitoring the average presentation of pupils at different stages of their senior phase pathway. This metric gives us information on the breadth of learning that the average pupil has undertaken at each stage and allows us to compare cohorts over time. The table below provides data for 2019, the last pre-pandemic diet, and data for 2022 up until 2025. The three measures below are Nat 5 presentations at S4, Higher presentations at S5 and Adv Higher presentations at S6: Presentation Rate Measure 2019 2022 2023 2024 2025 S4 Nat 5 4.01 4.62 4.47 4.33 4.69 S5 Higher 2.84 2.91 2.95 2.68 2.81 S6 Adv Higher 0.53 0.79 0.72 0.75 0.60 • Presentation rates in S4 Nat 5 and S5 Higher are up against 2024, whilst the S6 Adv Higher presentation rate has fallen slightly. • Presentations rates for S4 Nat 5 and S6 Adv Higher are higher than in the last pre- pandemic diet. S5 Higher presentation rates are very slightly behind the 2019 rate. Long-term trends in presentation rates are provided in the visual below:
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• Over the last 10 sessions, the average number of National 5 presentations per S4 pupil has risen from 3.00 in 2016 to 4.69 in 2025. This marks a steady upward trend with the 2025 presentation rate being the highest over this period. • Over the last 10 sessions, the average number of Higher presentations per S5 pupil has remained steady. The 2025 figure of 2.81 is in line with 2.80 recorded in 2016 but marks a noticeable increase on the 2024 rate of 2.68. • Over the last 10 sessions, the average number of Advanced Higher presentations per S6 pupil has risen from 0.57 in 2016 to 0.60 in 2025. However, the 2025 figure is a meaningful decrease on the rate experienced between 2021 and 2024. The figure of 0.60 is in line with most years prior to 2020. The visual below provides an overview of presentation rates in each of our secondary schools. As the number of pupils in presenting for Adv Highers are very low in some schools, this measure has been omitted. *Note that Islay High School’s presentation rate appears lower as a result of their S3 presentation policy. This splits their National 5 attainment across two stages for most pupils – meaning that the S4 rate appears lower. This is not replicated elsewhere, so should be considered in any comparison between schools. • At S4 Nat 5, 5 of the 10 secondary schools increased their presentations per pupil against 2024. Seven of 10 secondary schools had presentation rates higher than in 2019. • At S5 Higher, 8 of the 10 secondary schools increased their presentations per pupil against 2024. Five of the 10 secondary schools had presentation rates higher than in 2019.
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4.7 Pass Rates Pass rates data for both A-C and A-D passes are provided below. Comparison to two different national figures is provided. The first national measure is referred to as Scotland (All Entries). This SQA provided figure includes all entries regardless of centre type or age of entrant. Pupils from independent schools and adult learners present in further education colleges are included in this figure. The second national measure is referred to as Scotland (LA schools only). This SQA provided figure includes only entries from pupils of local authority funded schools. As such, no adult learners can be included in this figure and privately educated pupils are also excluded. Comparisons will primarily be made to the latter of these two measures as the most appropriate like-for-like comparator. 4.8 For A-C grades, the performance of Argyll and Bute schools in 2025 is in line with national performance at National 5 level, behind at Higher level and ahead at Advanced Higher level. Table 1 below presents the overall performance of candidates in Argyll and Bute across all graded course levels at grades A-C in 2019 and 2022-2025. A comparison to national pass rates for each year is provided. This data is also replicated in the graphic below the table. Table 1 - A-C Awards 2019, 2022 - 2025 – Argyll and Bute versus Scotland (All Entries) and Scotland (LA Schools Only) – National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher Awards. National 5 Year Argyll and Bute Scotland (All Entries) Scotland (LA Schools Only) Difference to National LA Schools Only 2019 79.6% 78.2% 77.2% 2.4% 2022 78.8% 80.8% 80.0% -1.2% 2023 77.3% 78.8% 77.8% -0.5% 2024 75.6% 77.2% 76.2% -0.6% 2025 77.2% 78.4% 77.4% -0.2% Higher Year Argyll and Bute Scotland (All Entries) Scotland (LA Schools Only) Difference to National LA Schools Only 2019 73.2% 74.8% 73.9% -0.7% 2022 79.6% 78.9% 78.0% 1.6% 2023 77.3% 77.1% 75.9% 1.4% 2024 72.1% 74.9% 73.6% -1.5% 2025 73.4% 75.9% 74.8% -1.4% Advanced Higher Year Argyll and Bute Scotland (All Entries) Scotland (LA Schools Only) Difference to National LA Schools Only 2019 75.7% 75.3% 76.9% -1.2% 2022 83.7% 79.8% 79.2% 4.5% 2023 79.4% 81.3% 77.2% 2.2% 2024 76.4% 79.4% 72.2% 2.2% 2025 74.5% 76.7% 73.8% 0.7%
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• The Argyll and Bute National 5 A-C pass rate has increased by 1.6% points on 2024 and is in line with 2023. The 2025 National 5 pass rate is slightly behind that of 2019 (-2.4% points). However, the presentation rate in 2025 is significantly higher than in 2019 – suggesting a more ambitious presentation approach. • The Argyll and Bute National 5 A-C pass rate is in line with the national figure for LA Schools Only. The Argyll and Bute National 5 pass rate has exceeded the national figure in 1 of the last 5 comparator years. However, the gap to the national figure (- 0.2pp) is the smallest it has been since exceeding the figure in 2019. • The Argyll and Bute Higher A-C pass rate has increased by 1.3% points on 2024 but is 3.9% points behind the 2023 figure. The 2025 Higher pass rate is in line with that of 2019. The presentation rate for 2025 is also in line with 2019 but ahead of 2024. • The Argyll and Bute Higher A-C pass rate is behind that of the national figure (- 1.4pp). The Argyll and Bute Higher pass rate has exceeded the national figure in 2 of the last 5 comparator years. The gap to the national figure has closed slightly compared to 2024. • The Argyll and Bute Advanced Higher A-C pass rate has reduced by 1.9% points on 2024, and by 4.9% points on the 2023 figure. The 2025 Advance Higher pass rate is slightly behind the 2019 figure (-1.2% points). However, the presentation rate in 2025 is slightly higher than in 2019 – suggesting a more ambitious presentation approach. On the other hand, the presentation rate in 2025 was below that of 2024. • The Argyll and Bute Advanced Higher A-C pass rate is ahead of the national figure (+0.7pp). The Argyll and Bute Advanced Higher pass rate has exceeded the national figure in 4 of the last 5 comparator years.
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The visual below shows A-C pass rate performance at each of our secondary schools: • At National 5, 7 out of 10 secondary schools improved their pass rates against 2024. Three schools (Islay, Hermitage and Oban) had higher pass rates than the national figure for local authority run schools. Lochgilphead was also in line with the national pass rate figure. Three schools (Campbeltown, Oban and Tiree) had 2025 National 5 pass rates that exceeded their own 2019 figure. • At Higher, 7 out of 10 secondary schools improved their pass rates against 2024. Five schools (Tiree, Tarbert, Hermitage, Tobermory and Islay) had higher pass rates than the national figure for local authority run schools. Seven schools (Campbeltown, Islay, Lochgilphead, Oban, Rothesay, Tarbert and Tiree) had 2025 Higher pass rates that exceeded their own 2019 figure. • At Advanced Higher, 5 out of 10 secondary schools improved their pass rates against 2024, with Tobermory also matching their 2024 performance. Seven schools had higher pass rates than the national figure for local authority run schools. However, small numbers of Advanced Higher entries in some schools does mean that often the performance of an individual pupil has a significant impact on pass rates. Six schools (Dunoon, Islay, Oban, Tarbert, Tiree and Tobermory) had 2025 Advanced Higher pass rates that exceeded their own 2019 figure.
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4.8 For A-D grades, the performance of Argyll and Bute schools in 2025 is above the current National performance in SQA examinations in two of the national measures: National 5 and Higher. Table 2 below present the overall performance of candidates in Argyll and Bute across all graded course levels at grades A-D in 2019 and 2022-2025. A comparison to national pass rates for each year is provided. This data is also replicated in the graphic below the table. Table 2 A-D Awards 2019, 2022 - 2025 – Argyll and Bute versus Scotland (All Entries) and Scotland (LA Schools Only) – National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher Awards. National 5 Year Argyll and Bute Scotland (All Entries) Scotland (LA Schools Only) Difference to National LA Schools Only 2019 92.1% 90.7% 90.3% 1.8% 2022 92.0% 92.1% 91.7% 0.3% 2023 91.0% 90.5% 90.0% 1.0% 2024 88.0% 89.1% 88.5% -0.5% 2025 89.9% 89.6% 89.2% 0.7% Higher Year Argyll and Bute Scotland (All Entries) Scotland (LA Schools Only) Difference to National LA Schools Only 2019 91.4% 89.9% 89.7% 1.7% 2022 92.7% 91.5% 91.1% 1.6% 2023 92.2% 90.5% 90.1% 2.1% 2024 89.3% 89.5% 89.0% 0.3% 2025 89.9% 89.9% 89.5% 0.4% Advanced Higher Year Argyll and Bute Scotland (All Entries) Scotland (LA Schools Only) Difference to National LA Schools Only 2019 87.6% 87.8% 86.1% 1.5% 2022 96.5% 93.4% 92.5% 4.0% 2023 93.0% 92.7% 91.5% 1.5% 2024 90.4% 89.9% 88.5% 1.9% 2025 88.2% 90.3% 88.9% -0.7%
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• The Argyll and Bute National 5 A-D pass rate has increased by 1.9% points on 2024, but remains slightly behind 2023. The 2025 National 5 pass rate is slightly behind that of 2019 (-2.2% points). However, the presentation rate in 2025 is significantly higher than in 2019 – suggesting a more ambitious presentation approach. • The Argyll and Bute National 5 A-D pass rate is ahead of the national figure for LA Schools Only and for all National 5 presentations. The Argyll and Bute National 5 pass rate has exceeded the national figure in 4 of the last 5 comparator years. Argyll and Bute is 0.7pp ahead of the national figure in 2025 – a reversal of the -0.5pp gap that occurred in 2024. • The Argyll and Bute Higher A-D pass rate has increased by 0.6% points on 2024, but remains behind the 2023 figure. The 2025 Higher pass rate is also behind that of 2019. The presentation rate for 2025 is also in line with 2019 but slightly ahead of 2024. • The Argyll and Bute Higher A-D pass rate is ahead of the national figure (+0.4pp). The Argyll and Bute Higher pass rate has exceeded the national figure in all of the last 5 comparator years. The gap to the national figure has remained steady (0.4pp in 2025 and 0.3pp in 2024). • The Argyll and Bute Advanced Higher A-D pass rate has reduced by 2.2% points on 2024, and by 4.8% points on the 2023 figure. The 2025 Advance Higher pass rate is slightly ahead of the 2019 figure (+0.6% points). Furthermore, the presentation rate in 2025 is slightly higher than in 2019 – suggesting a more ambitious presentation approach. On the other hand, the presentation rate in 2025 was below that of 2024. • The Argyll and Bute Advanced Higher A-D pass rate is behind the national figure (- 0.7pp). The Argyll and Bute Advanced Higher pass rate has exceeded the national figure in 4 of the last 5 comparator years.
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The visual below shows A-D pass rate performance at each of our secondary schools: • At National 5, 7 out of 10 secondary schools improved their pass rates against 2024. Three schools (Islay, Hermitage and Oban) had higher pass rates than the national figure for local authority run schools. Lochgilphead was also in line with the national pass rate figure. Three schools (Campbeltown, Oban and Tiree) had 2025 National 5 pass rates that exceeded their own 2019 figure. • At Higher, 7 out of 10 secondary schools improved their pass rates against 2024. Five schools (Tiree, Tarbert, Hermitage, Tobermory and Islay) had higher pass rates than the national figure for local authority run schools. Seven schools (Campbeltown, Islay, Lochgilphead, Oban, Rothesay, Tarbert and Tiree) had 2025 Higher pass rates that exceeded their own 2019 figure. • At Advanced Higher, 5 out of 10 secondary schools improved their pass rates against 2024, with Tobermory also matching their 2024 performance. Seven schools had higher pass rates than the national figure for local authority run schools. However, small numbers of Advanced Higher entries in some schools does mean that often the performance of an individual pupil has a significant impact on pass rates. Six schools (Dunoon, Islay, Oban, Tarbert, Tiree and Tobermory) had 2025 Advanced Higher pass rates that exceeded their own 2019 figure.
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4.9 Awards per Pupil To comprehensively understand the attainment of our young people we need to combine both presentation rate data and pass rate data. Individually each measure provides useful information. Presentation rate data tells us about the breadth of learning that young people are presented for. Pass rate data tells us about the assessment performance of our young people. Yet, taken individually, both measures have limitations and potential for perverse incentives. For example, we could increase pass rates by simply not presenting any pupils who we estimate to get a C or D grade. To increase presentation rates, we could present pupils when they are not quite ready to achieve. In both scenarios the adjoining measure is negatively impacted; presentation rates decrease if presentation is unambitious and selective and pass rates decline if presentations are overly ambitious and premature. The ideal situation for school improvement is that both measures increase. Presentation rates increase so the average pupil is assessed on a broader range of learning. At the same time, pass rates also increase, with the quality of performance also increasing or at least being maintained. One metric which combines both is awards per pupil, which is calculated as follows: Awards per pupil = Presentation Rate (presentations per pupil) x Pass Rate (percentage of A-C passes) The result of this is a metric which tells us about the average attainment at a particular presentation level for a particular stage. The two measures used below are National 5 awards at S4 and Higher awards at S5. S4 Nat 5 Awards per Pupil The table below provides awards per pupil data for 2019 (last pre-pandemic session) and 2022-2025). Please note that pass rates here are only for S4 pupils, whilst Table 1 above is for all National 5 presentations. Awards per Pupil - S4 Nat 5 Year Presentation Rate Pass Rate Awards per Pupil 2019 4.01 82.94% 3.33 2022 4.62 82.06% 3.79 2023 4.47 79.75% 3.56 2024 4.33 79.49% 3.44 2025 4.69 80.39% 3.77 The awards per pupil table above shows strong progress has been made at S4. An improvement in both the presentation rate and the pass rate means that the awards per pupil figure of 3.77 is a marked improvement on both 2024 and 2023. The 2025 figure is in line with 2022, which had a different assessment model. The figure of 3.77 is significantly higher than the last pre-pandemic session of 2019. Against the most appropriate comparative years (2024 and 2019), National 5 performance of S4 pupils in 2025 is strong.
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S5 Higher Awards per Pupil The table below provides awards per pupil data for 2019 (last pre-pandemic session) and 2022-2025). Please note that pass rates here are only for S5 pupils, whilst Table 1 above is for all Higher presentations. Awards per Pupil - S5 Higher Year Presentation Rate Pass Rate Awards per Pupil 2019 2.84 75.99% 2.16 2022 2.91 82.55% 2.40 2023 2.95 79.68% 2.35 2024 2.68 73.87% 1.98 2025 2.81 75.38% 2.12 The awards per pupil table above shows progress has been made at S5. An improvement in both the presentation rate and the pass rate means that the awards per pupil figure of 2.12 is an improvement on 2024. The 2025 figure is in line with 2019, but behind both 2022 and 2023 figures. Against the most appropriate comparative years (2024 and 2019), Higher performance of S5 pupils in 2025 is better than 2024 and in line with 2019. 4.10 Attainment Gaps Attainment gaps are typically measured by comparing the performance of pupils from the 20% most deprived SIMD data zones (Quintile 1) against those from the 20% least deprived SIMD data zones (Quintile 5). Each year the SQA publishes attainment gap analysis in their equalities monitoring report, which can be found here: Equalities Monitoring Report 2025 - SQA. To draw comparisons to national attainment gaps, the same methodology has been completed with Argyll and Bute data. However, the Quintile 1 and Quintile 5 split does have some limitations which suggest we should be cautious in using this comparison. Almost 41% of all Scottish secondary pupils reside in SIMD quintiles 1 and 5. Pupils falling into these data zones within Argyll and Bute only constitute 17% of our school population. Furthermore, of this 17%, only 7% of our pupils reside in Quintile 5. As such, our sample of pupils is relatively small compared to the national sample. This is particularly problematic at Advanced Higher where entries are relatively small regardless of SIMD quintile. Small samples mean that fluctuations in the data are to be expected as the performance of individual pupils can have significant swings on overall group performance. Indeed, in 2025, there were only 8 SIMD quintile 1 pupils who presented for 15 Advanced Higher awards – meaning a single D grade would impact the A-C pass rate by 6.7%. For this reason, no comparison at Advanced Higher has been made. Comparisons for National 5 and Higher have been made as there were over 50 pupils from each quintile who completed these qualifications. The table below provides an overview of pass rate attainment gaps in both Argyll and Bute and nationally:
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Argyll and Bute National Difference between Argyll and Bute gap and National gap Presentation Type Year Q1 Pass Rate Q5 Pass Rate Attainment Gap Q1 Pass Rate Q5 Pass Rate Attainment Gap National 5 2019 72.0% 86.8% 14.8% 68.8% 85.8% 17.0% -2.2% 2024 64.1% 79.8% 15.7% 68.4% 85.6% 17.2% -1.5% 2025 70.9% 86.0% 15.1% 70.0% 86.6% 16.6% -1.5% Higher 2019 72.7% 79.7% 7.0% 64.9% 81.8% 16.9% -9.9% 2024 61.4% 79.2% 17.8% 65.1% 82.2% 17.1% 0.7% 2025 68.5% 82.5% 14.0% 66.1% 83.2% 17.1% -3.1% • The National 5 attainment gap in Argyll and Bute has closed from 15.7% points in 2024 to 15.1% points in 2025. This is a small decrease driven by a greater increase in the pass rate amongst Quintile 1 pupils when compared to Quintile 5 pupils. The gap in 2025 is in line with data from 2019. The Argyll and Bute attainment gap has been smaller than the national attainment gap in each of the three comparison years. • The Higher attainment gap in Argyll and Bute has closed from 17.8% points in 2024 to 14.0% points in 2025. This decrease has been driven by a significant increase in pass rates amongst Quintile 1 pupils. At the same time, Quintile 5 pass rates also improved on 2024, but at a smaller rate than Quintile 1 improvement. • The Argyll and Bute attainment gap is smaller than the national attainment gap in 2025. This was not the case in 2024 when Argyll and Bute had a slightly larger gap than the national figure. This is driven by a reversal in performance of Quintile 1 pupils. Quintile 1 pupils in Argyll and Bute now outperform Quintile 1 pupils nationally, whilst Quintile 5 pupils are very slightly behind their national counterparts. • Across the 2 measures and 3 comparison points, Argyll and Bute attainment gaps have been smaller than national attainment gaps in 5 of 6 occasions (83%). 4.11 Local Authority Ranking To assess our performance against the other 32 authorities, we have ranked pass rates from lowest to highest. A ranking of 1 represents the authority with the highest pass rate and a ranking of 32 would be the lowest pass rate. Visuals are provided below both for A-C pass rates and the A grade pass rate – a measure of top end performance. It should be noted that, as explained above, pass rates and presentations are intricately linked and there is no way of ensuring that each local authority has the same presentation approach. As such, pass rates are not entirely a reflection on outcome performance but also on presentation approach. The visual below presents Argyll and Bute’s national ranking by the percentage of entries which received an A-C grade pass:
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• In 2025, Argyll and Bute were ranked 17th in the country for National 5 A-C pass rate, a slight decline on 16th in 2024. This year’s ranking is behind the 2019 ranking of 9th. To have entered the top half of the rankings the pass rate would have needed to increase by 0.4% points. • In 2025, Argyll and Bute were ranked 18th in the country for Higher A-C pass rate, an improvement on 22nd in 2024. This is ahead of the 2019 ranking of 22nd. To have entered the top half of the rankings the pass rate would have needed to increase by 0.5% points. • In 2025, Argyll and Bute were ranked 10th in the country for Advanced Higher A-C pass rate, a small decline on 5th in 2024. This is ahead of the 2019 ranking of 18th. To have entered the top quarter of the rankings (top 8) the pass rate would have needed to increase by 2.0% points. • In terms of LGBF Quad rankings, Argyll and Bute leads the rankings for Advanced Higher and places 2nd of 4 in National 5 and Higher (behind East Lothian in both). The visual below presents Argyll and Bute’s national ranking by the percentage of entries which received an A grade:
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• In 2025, Argyll and Bute were ranked 16th in the country for National 5 A grade pass rate, an improvement on 18th in 2024 and the fourth year in a row of improved position on the ranking. This is slightly behind the 2019 ranking of 14th. • In 2025, Argyll and Bute were ranked 24th in the country for Higher A grade pass rate, a marked decline on 13th in 2024. However, this remains ahead of the 2019 ranking of 25th. To have entered the top half of the rankings the pass rate would have needed to increase by 2.0% points. • In 2025, Argyll and Bute were ranked 10th in the country for Advanced Higher A grade pass rate, a marked improvement on the 20th ranking from 2024. This is also ahead of the 2019 ranking of 18th. To have entered the top quarter of the rankings (top 8) the pass rate would have needed to increase by 0.3% points. • In terms of LGBF Quad rankings, Argyll and Bute leads the rankings for Advanced Higher and places 2nd for National 5, behind East Lothian, and 3rd for Higher, behind East Lothian and Angus. 4.13 Care Experienced Young People (CEYP) The table below provides an overview of presentations for our CEYP by stage: Number of Presentations Stage Number of Pupils National 2 National 3 National 4 National 5 Higher Grand Total
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S3 2 5 1 6 S4 29 1 28 48 40 1 118 S5 15 1 6 22 13 42 S6 9 3 4 11 18 Totals 55 1 34 58 66 25 184 The table below shows the number of CEYP pupils who presented for National Qualifications from each CE type: Care Experience Type Number of Pupils Number of Awards Awards per Pupils Away 28 88 3.1 Home 3 9 3.0 Previously 24 87 3.6 Grand Total 55 184 3.3 • In 2025 there were 93 completed awards from National 2 to National 4. These 93 awards came from 36 different pupils, meaning that on average each CEYP who sat one of these awards completed 2.6 awards. • In 2025, there were 91 presentations at the graded National 5 and Higher courses. These presentations came from 33 different pupils, meaning that on average each CEYP who sat one of these awards completed 2.8 awards. Pass rates for the National 5 and Higher awards are provided in the table below: Presentation Type A-C Pass Rate D Awards No Award A-D Pass Rate National 5 62.1% 19.7% 18.2% 81.8% Higher 72.0% 4.0% 24.0% 76.0% The table below provides the underlying numbers of pupils and presentations as well as a comparison of pass rates against 2024 data: National 5 Year Number of Pupils Number of Presentations Presentations per Pupil A-C Pass Rate A-D Pass Rate
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2025 27 66 2.44 62.10% 81.80% 2024 29 70 2.41 45.70% 74.30% Change: 0.03 16.40% 7.50% Higher Year Number of Pupils Number of Presentations Presentations per Pupil A-C Pass Rate A-D Pass Rate 2025 12 25 2.08 72.00% 76.00% 2024 12 24 2.00 33.30% 70.80% Change: 0.08 38.70% 5.20% • The number of pupils presenting for National 5 and Higher awards has remained similar across the two-year period. The presentation per pupil rate has increased very slightly across both measures. • The A-C pass rate at National 5 has increased by 16.4% points against 2024. This means in 2025, 27 pupils achieved 41 A-C awards compared to 29 pupils achieving 32 awards in 2024. As such, the National 5 awards per pupil increased from 1.1 in 2024 to 1.5 in 2025. • The A-C pass rate at Higher has increased by 38.7% points against 2024. This means in 2025, 12 pupils achieved 18 A-C awards compared to 12 pupils achieving 8 A-C awards in 2024. As such, the Higher awards per pupil increased from 0.66 in 2024 to 1.50 in 2025. • The A-D pass rate at National 5 has increased by 7.5% points, whilst an increase of 5.2% points also occurred at Higher level. 4.14 As a Local Authority we offer a wide range of opportunities that help to meet the needs of our individual learners, whilst also supporting a variety of pathways into secure, sustainable positive destinations. The results reported within this briefing note do not include the following presentations for our young people at this time: 1) College courses at levels 4, 5 and 6 2) National Progression Awards (NPA) at levels 4, 5 and 6 3) Skills for Work Awards at levels 4, 5 and 6 4) Foundation Apprenticeships at level 6 In recent years such qualifications and accreditations have increased individual school attainment levels considerably, once added after the release of Insight data in February. Final attainment and achievement cannot be measured until this time. This data will be available in September and will be presented in a future board report. 5.0 Appeals 5.1 The SQA Appeals Service for 2025 provides learners with the opportunity to request a marking review if they have concerns about their certificated grade. The appeals service is free and open for learners to appeal either directly to SQA, or through their school. Candidates who have concerns about their grade and think there may have been an error with the marking of their exam question paper(s) or coursework, can request a marking
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review by SQA. Since 2023 the appeals service does not entail alternative assessment evidence (e.g. prelim evidence from schools) being submitted or considered. The SQA marking review checks that: • all parts of SQA assessments have been marked; • the marking is in line with national standards; • the marks given for each answer have been added up correctly; and • the correct result has been entered on the SQA system. Following review, the candidate’s grade can go up, stay the same, or go down. Priority Appeals continue to be available to those with university, college or employment offers pending. SQA have sent directly to every candidate a copy of their Appeals Process Guidance. The appeals service will open on Results Day, Tuesday 5 August 2025 at 9 am, and the learner direct submission deadlines are: • Tuesday 12 August at 11.59 pm for priority appeals • Tuesday 26 August at 11.59pm for all other appeals An appeal can only be prioritised if there is a conditional place at university or college, or in training or employment that is dependent on the grade
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6.0 CONCLUSION 6.1 This report presents a summary of the initial analysis of the 2025 SQA external examination outcomes for Argyll and Bute pupils at authority level and in each of the ten secondary schools. 6.2 In 2025, the performance of Argyll and Bute schools compared relatively positively against results from 2024. Seven of our 10 schools improved their pass rates at National 5 and Higher, with 5 also increasing Adv Higher pass rates. Furthermore, increases in pass rates occurred alongside an increase in presentation rate at both National 5 and Higher – meaning that the average awards per pupil increased for both presentation types. 6.3 In 2025, the performance of Argyll and Bute schools compared positively against National figures. For A-C pass rates, Argyll and Bute was in line at National 5, slightly behind at Higher and ahead at Advanced Higher. For A-D pass rates, Argyll and Bute was ahead in both National 5 and Higher. In terms of attainment gaps, Argyll and Bute continues to have a narrow gap than that which exists nationally. This is driven by our SIMD quintile 1 performance, which exceeds that of SIMD quintile 1 pupils nationally. 6.4 Progress of Care Experienced Young People continued in 2025 with A-C and A- D pass rates increasing at both National 5 and Higher levels. Presentation rates have been maintained against 2024, with the improved pass rates meaning that the average number of awards for CECYP has improved in 2025. 6.5 The Education Service will continue with a programme of support and challenge with all schools across the authority, involving a range of actions and measures to support schools to secure further improvement in examination outcomes for pupils. In the autumn, all secondary schools will participate in an Attainment Meeting with the Executive Director, Heads of Education and the Education Manager and Officer, at which HTs will present in-depth analysis of all aspects of their schools’ attainment, and indicate key areas of focus for improvement. 6.6 A further report on Educational Attainment and Wider Achievement will be presented to Community Services Committee in December 2025 following the publication of updated national performance information on Insight released in September of each year. 7.0 IMPLICATIONS 7.1 Policy This report links directly to Education in the Argyll and Bute Corporate Plan 2023-2027 (Attaining and achieving at all stages). NIF: Priorities 3 and 5 7.2 Financial None 7.3 Legal None 7.4 HR None
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7.5 Fairer Scotland Duty: 7.5.1 Equalities This report links directly to NIF Priority 3: Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people. 7.5.2 Socio-economic Duty 7.5.3 Islands 7.6 Climate Change 7.7 Risk The performance of Argyll and Bute schools in national examinations can significantly enhance or detract from the Council’s reputation and attractiveness as an area to work and live in. 7.8 Customer Service This report provides Elected Members with an overview of Service Performance. 7.9 The Rights of the Child (UNCRC) This report links to Article 29 (goals of education) Douglas Hendry - Executive Director with responsibility for Education Councillor Audrey Forrest - Policy Lead for Education For further information contact: Jennifer Crocket Chief Education Officer/ Head of Education – Wellbeing, Inclusion and Achievement Wendy Brownlie Head of Education – Performance and Improvement Brendan Docherty Education Manager – Secondary Performance and Improvement James Bowness Education Lead – Benchmarking, Data and Performance