Nicola Sturgeon’s promises in relation to tackling the poverty-related attainment gap in Scotland’s schools “lie in tatters”, following the publication of Scotland’s national exam results, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
Shadow education secretary Miles Briggs praised Scotland’s pupils for their hard work over the last year and says they should be proud of the excellent results that they achieved in what was another challenging year for them.
However, he says SNP ministers should not be complacent about the results and that “no amount of spin” can hide the fact they have failed to eradicate the attainment gap, which Nicola Sturgeon said would be the defining mission of her government.
The exam results for 2025 show that the gap between the most and least deprived pupils obtaining A-C grades at National 5 was still 16.6%, with the gap at Higher 17.1% and Advanced Higher standing at 12.8%.
The gap between the most and least deprived pupils achieving A grades at Advanced Higher has widened by almost three per cent since prior to the pandemic, while there has been no progress on reducing the gap in relation to Higher Exam results.
In a landmark speech in 2015 Nicola Sturgeon said her aim was to close the attainment gap completely, while her party’s 2016 Programme for Government – when John Swinney was education secretary – pledged to substantially eliminate the gap by 2026.
Miles Briggs says it should be a “source of shame” for SNP ministers that pupils from Scotland’s most deprived communities are still less likely to succeed on their watch and accused ministers of taking a “wrecking ball” to Scotland’s once world-leading reputation for educational excellence.
Scottish conservative shadow cabinet secretary for education and skills Miles Briggs MSP said: “Firstly, I would like to congratulate Scotland’s pupils on an excellent set of results and for their hard work over the last year to achieve them. This would also not have been possible without the support of our dedicated teachers and parents and carers who have helped them every step of the way.
“These results have been achieved against a backdrop of another challenging year in our schools with violence soaring out of control and teachers often feeling like they do not have enough say over the school curriculum.
“However, SNP ministers have no room for complacency. Frankly, no amount of spin from them can avoid the fact that Nicola Sturgeon’s promises in relation to the attainment gap lie in tatters.
“She wanted to eradicate it completely yet still there is a huge gap in the results achieved by those from our most and least deprived communities. And John Swinney was education secretary when the SNP said it would be the defining mission of their government and promised to substantially eliminate it by 2026.
“By any measure they have failed Scotland’s children. It should be a source of shame for Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney that those from the most deprived communities are still facing a postcode lottery when it comes to educational achievement.
“SNP ministers have taken a wrecking ball to Scotland’s once world-leading education reputation and have no plans to deliver the positive changes that are desperately needed. The SNP need to stop tinkering around the edges, and back our common-sense proposals that would ensure every pupil can aspire to the best they can possibly be.”
Notes:
Nicola Sturgeon made the commitment in a speech on 18 August 2015: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/47889/nicola-sturgeons-education-speech
Page 7 of the SNP’s Programme for Government in 2016 pledged to substantially eliminate the attainment gap over the next decade: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2016/09/plan-scotland-scottish-governments-programme-scotland-2016-17/documents/00505210-pdf/00505210-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/00505210.pdf
There continues to be an attainment gap between the most and least deprived students. In 2025, the gap between the most and least deprived pupils obtaining an A-C grade at National 5, was 16.6%, at Higher this was 17.1%, whilst at Advanced Higher this was 12.8%. (SQA Monitoring Report 2025, 5 August 2025, link).
There has been little progress in reducing the attainment gap for pupils achieving an A grade since the pandemic. In 2025, the gap between the most and least deprived pupils obtaining an A grade at National 5 had only reduced by 0.1% on 2019 levels, at Higher this was 0.0%, whilst at Advanced Higher the gap had widened by 2.8%. (SQA Monitoring Report 2025, 5 August 2025, link).