PUPILS from across Helensburgh and Lomond are making plans for their future after receiving confirmation of their 2021 SQA results this week.

Grades for National 4, National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher pupils were confirmed on Tuesday – though provisional results had already been given to pupils earlier in the summer.

For the second year in a row, traditional National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams were scrapped because of the pandemic, with pupils’ results based on a combination of continuous assessment, moderation and “quality assurance” within schools.

For Argyll and Bute Council’s schools as a whole, this year’s results are higher than the Scotland-wide average, but are down slightly at all four levels on the area’s results for last year.

Details of Hermitage Academy’s results were not made public when area-wide statistics were released on Tuesday, with individual schools’ performances expected to be disclosed later this month.

At the independent Lomond School in Helensburgh there was delight at a 100 per cent pass rate at Higher and Advanced Higher and 98 per cent at National 5, while the school set two new records at Higher level, with 76 per cent of all awards being A grades and 90 per cent being either A or B.

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Argyll and Bute Council’s education spokesperson, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, said: “The last 18 months have been a difficult and uncertain time for everyone, but our young people, with the support of their parents and teachers, have overcome any barriers and continued to work hard to achieve success.

“Their commitment and sheer determination to do well has clearly paid off and I am delighted for them.”

The pass rate for National 5 across the local authority’s schools in 2021 was 87.33 per cent, which is 1.5 per cent above the national average, while the Higher figure of 90.15 per cent was 2.9 per cent above the national rate.

The Advanced Higher rate of 91.41 per cent is 1.2 per cent above the Scottish average, while all 10 council-run secondaries maintained their 100 per cent pass rate at National 4 level.

The National 5 pass rate for Argyll and Bute is down by 4.5 per cent on the pass rate for the area in 2020, while the Advanced Higher rate has fallen by 4.48 per cent.

The Higher rate has seen a very small year-on-year decrease of 0.33 per cent.

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Lomond School’s principal, Johanna Urquhart, said: “I was confident, given the high quality academic and pastoral support at Lomond, that our pupils would achieve the results they so richly deserve.

“I am so proud that our school delivers the all-round, enriching, educational experience which all young people deserve. My warmest congratulations to you all.”

The school’s academic depute, Claire Chisholm, added: “Although extremely impressive, our results only convey a little of what was achieved by Lomond pupils this year.

“The real story is in the hard work, resilience and adaptability shown by our boarding and day pupils, our parents, and our staff.”

Lomond pupil Ethan Boswell, from Cardross, who achieved nine A grades at National 5 said: “It’s been a tough year for everyone, but I really feel that all of our efforts have been rewarded.

“Our teachers have been incredible in supporting us and I’m really looking forward to getting back to school to start my IB Diploma next week.”

For those pupils who didn’t perform as well as they’d hoped, support is available by contacting schools directly or by calling Skills Development Scotland’s results helpline.

The helpline is available on 0808 100 8000 from 9am to 5pm each weekday until Wednesday, August 18.