ARGYLL and Bute Council’s education policy lead has said she has “every confidence” that teachers will ensure pupils get the right grades this year in place of their exams.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has confirmed in updated guidelines that schools will submit pupils’ coursework from across the year – not just prelim exam results.

And Councillor Yvonne McNeilly says she is confident that teachers, who have until Friday, May 29 to submit material, will get it right and ensure the highest possible marks for pupils.

The measures have been introduced after the cancellation of the 2020 exam diet, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, was announced by deputy first minister John Swinney.

READ MORE: Hermitage Academy head teacher moves to assure pupils after exams' cancellation

Councillor McNeilly said: “Like every other Scottish council, we’re working hard to provide the best learning experience for our young people in these highly unusual and challenging circumstances.

“It’s absolutely vital that the young people who would have been sitting exams this year are still able to achieve the qualifications for which they’ve been working so hard over the past few years.

“The SQA have said that they believe teachers are best placed to understand how their students perform and what level they can achieve.

“I have every confidence that our superb education staff will play their part in the SQA’s process very effectively and  do everything that they can to deliver what is required – just as they have done with every other aspect of teaching and learning in these difficult times.”

Notes issued by the SQA last week said that estimates from teachers should be based on work throughout the year and not just on mock exams.

READ MORE: Lockdown life is hitting young people's mental health hard, says Helensburgh's MSYP

The exams body said in a statement: “The integrity of these estimates is critical, because they will provide the core element of the certification process.

“Please note that any estimates that you have already submitted to SQA will be processed and returned to you for reference, to help you complete a revised submission.

“To provide additional reassurance to the system, SQA will moderate estimates, to ensure consistency across centres and fairness to candidates.

“This will include analyses of centres’ estimates and outcomes, prior attainment, progression statistics, and grade distributions.

“These measures are intended as further validation of teachers’ and lecturers’ professional judgements.”

READ MORE: Check out all the latest Helensburgh and Lomond news headlines here