9 Feb 2017
Scotland is “playing catch” up when it “used to lead the world” on education, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
Pointing to a damning report by education experts the Sutton Trust, leader Ruth Davidson said the blame lay entirely at the door of an SNP government which has been in charge for 10 years.
The issue dominated First Minister’s Questions today, but Nicola Sturgeon was unable to offer any explanation for the dreadful findings.
In addition, new analysis has illustrated just how badly Scottish pupils are lagging their contemporaries around the world.
Using PISA statistics released at the end of last year, the Scottish Conservatives found 15-year-old Scottish pupils are:
- Two years behind Singapore on science
- One year behind Ireland and Canada on reading
- One year behind Estonia and the Czech Republic on maths
It backs up conclusions in the Sutton Trust report which states: “There is no specific area where able children in Scotland really excel.”
It also found there had been “a pronounced and sustained decline in able pupils’ performance in science, equivalent to around a year of schooling” north of the border.
Today, Ruth also challenged the First Minister on why a scheme to twin flagship schools with underperforming ones had been dropped by the Scottish Government.
And she urged the SNP to do more than simply launch poster campaigns when it came to attracting more people to the teaching profession.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:
“Scotland used to lead the world in education, but under a decade of SNP government we are now playing catch-up.
“Pupils are not only falling behind their contemporaries south of the border, but are struggling in comparison with countries right across the world.
“That’s the legacy of this SNP government’s 10 years in power.
“It is in sole charge of education and has no-one else to blame.
“The Sutton Trust made a range of recommendations, but Nicola Sturgeon seems unwilling to commit to any of them.
“This inaction is harming the prospects of our children and, considering the First Minister wants to be judged on education, it’s clear much more needs to be done.”
For more information on the Sutton Trust report, visit:
http://www.suttontrust.com/newsarchive/three-year-attainment-gap-between-poor-pupils-and-their-better-off-classmates-separates-britains-brightest-teenage-girls/
For the methodology on the comparative PISA findings, contact the Scottish Conservative press office.
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