Improvements made in Highland numeracy and literacy
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The percentage of Highland pupils achieving the expected levels in both literacy and numeracy has increased according to new figures.
The Scottish Government yesterday released the official Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) for literacy (reading, writing, listening and talking) and numeracy.
- UHI colleges set to join Scotland-wide UNISON strike action
- Step forward for new Nairn Academy
- Highland Council called on to declare a 'school estate emergency'
Highland Council said the region has seen accelerated improvement compared to national trends and continues to close the gap to the national figures.
In Highland, literacy for P1, P4, P7 combined increased by six per cent in 2022/23, and a total of 16 per cent over the last two years. Numeracy has increased by three per cent in 2022/23, and a total of 12 per cent over the last two years.
At a year group level, improvements were made across the board for P1, P4 and P7.
Primary 1s improved the most for their stage in listening and talking and literacy with both increasing by three per cent.
Primary 4s made the greatest improvement of all year groups when compared to last year, improving by between five and seven per cent in every element, with biggest increases in writing and literacy.
Primary 7s also made a similar big improvement across every measure, with the largest increase of seven per cent in writing and six per cent in literacy.
In secondary, the percentage of S3 pupils achieving fourth level literacy increased by seven per cent and numeracy by six per cent.
Councillor John Finlayson, chairman of Highland Council’s education committee, said: “Highland’s results in this year’s ACEL statistics are very positive and show encouraging improvements for Highland over the last two years, with a 16 per cent improvement in literacy and a 12 per cent improvement in numeracy.
"I am also delighted for each child and young person who achieved successes in their numeracy and literacy attainment over the last year.
“In a week where we have seen trends of lowering attainment generally across the UK as a whole and Scotland in the PISA results, it is fantastic to see how attainment is rising so fast in the Highland area.
"It is great that when national trends are towards reductions in attainment, the Highland area can demonstrate that it is bucking these trends.
"The pace of improvement is well beyond that of the rest of Scotland, which is a great credit to our pupils and staff.
“These results clearly demonstrate that learners across Highland are continuing to make progress in our schools and I'm pleased to see the ongoing narrowing of the attainment gap and especially the progress being made to close the poverty related attainment gap.
"This year’s results for Highland are the best set of results since this data collation began in 2016 and we will continue to give support to schools and learners to further close the attainment gap in the coming years.”
Nicky Grant, executive chief officer for education and learning, said: “We will continue to work together with our schools and communities on our collaborative improvement agenda, with a specific focus on achieving excellence and equity for all as an integral part of our raising attainment strategy.
"I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our staff, officers, parents, carers and of course our children for their work and achievements.
"This is a positive step forward in our raising attainment and achievement agenda and I look forward to future progress.”
Highland Performance Summary:
74 per cent of primary pupils achieved the expected CfE Level for Reading; increase of three per cent.
68 per cent of primary pupils achieved the expected CfE Level for Writing; increase of five per cent.
84 per cent of primary pupils achieved the expected CfE Level for Listening and Talking; increase of four per cent.
65 per cent of primary pupils achieved the expected CfE Level for Literacy; increase of six per cent.
72 per cent of primary pupils achieved the expected CfE Level for Numeracy; increase of three per cent.
87 per cent of S3 pupils achieved third level or better in literacy; increase of four per cent.
48 per cent of S3 pupils achieved fourth level or better in literacy; increase of seven per cent.
89 per cent of S3 pupils achieved third level or better in numeracy.
61 per cent of S3 pupils achieved fourth level or better in numeracy.
The poverty related attainment gap
Primary attainment in Literacy for pupils from Highland’s most deprived areas increased by 10 per cent and the gap narrowed by four per cent.
Primary attainment in numeracy for pupils from Highland’s most deprived areas increased by six per cent and the gap narrowed by five per cent.
S3 attainment gap in Literacy for pupils from Highland’s most deprived areas narrowed by two per cent for third level and four per cent for fourth level.
S3 attainment gap in numeracy for pupils from Highland’s most deprived areas narrowed by five per cent for third level and to per cent for fourth level.
