JONATHAN BROCKLEBANK: The SNP stole a generation’s dreams with a scandalous postcode lottery…yet they won’t say sorry
The article says a 2020 Scottish grading policy unfairly lowered the results of pupils whose schools had historically weaker performance, disrupting students’ plans and undermining confidence. It focuses on Erin Bleakley, who hoped to study veterinary medicine, and argues that the Scottish Government has not properly apologised for the harm caused.
With school exams cancelled during the Covid pandemic, teachers initially estimated grades, which the Scottish Qualifications Authority then moderated using schools’ past results. The article says almost 125,000 Higher grades were lowered, with the approach reinforcing the attainment gap it was intended to address. Bleakley, then 17, received three Bs, a C and two Ds despite strong prelim results; another student cited, Eva Peteranna, said her grades forced her to reconsider her career path.
In short
- Scotland’s 2020 grading system lowered many pupils’ estimated results.
- Erin Bleakley says the grades derailed her veterinary ambitions.
- The article argues school histories shaped pupils’ outcomes.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The moderation system aimed to make grades comparable across Scotland when exams were cancelled, using schools’ past results to check teacher estimates and guard against unusually generous marking. With no exam evidence available, relying on historical performance may have seemed a consistent way to protect the credibility of qualifications and fairness to pupils elsewhere.
The case against
School-level historical results could not reliably reflect an individual pupil’s ability, and applying them risked entrenching disadvantage for pupils at schools with weaker past outcomes. Lowered grades disrupted students’ plans and confidence, so critics argue the policy failed its equity aims and that the Government owes affected pupils a clear apology and acknowledgement of the harm.
Explained simply
In 2020, Covid restrictions meant Scotland’s school exams could not go ahead, so teachers estimated pupils’ grades. The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), which awards school qualifications, adjusted those estimates using each school’s past results.
The adjustments lowered almost 125,000 Higher grades, with pupils at schools with weaker past results more likely to be affected. Erin Bleakley and Eva Peteranna were among students who said their results disrupted their plans for further study or careers.
The approach was intended to keep grades consistent, but critics said it penalised pupils because of their school’s history and widened existing differences in attainment. The dispute concerns how grades should be awarded fairly when exams cannot take place, and how authorities should respond when decisions affect students’ futures.