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Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 27 April 2017

27 Apr 2017 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
General Question Time
Attainment Gap (Scottish Borders)
Lamont, John Con Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire Watch on SPTV

I thank the cabinet secretary for that reply, but the attainment gap in the Borders remains one of the worst in Scotland. Indeed, the Scottish National Party’s record on education in the Borders over the past 10 years is not good. Class sizes are at a record high as teacher numbers have dropped by nearly 80; the number of supply teachers has plummeted by 40 per cent; and only one in 10 of primary 1 to P3 pupils are in smaller classes, which is a record low, despite smaller classes being an SNP election pledge. The standard of education across Scotland, which used to be a world leader in education, is now only average.

Teachers work incredibly hard in the Scottish Borders, but they and their pupils are being let down by the SNP Government. Is that a record that the cabinet secretary is proud of?

In the same item of business

6. John Lamont (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Con
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in closing the attainment gap in the Scottish Borders. (S5O-00914)
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney) SNP
The Scottish Government, through the Scottish attainment challenge, is providing increased support for local authorities, including Scottish Borders Council,...
John Lamont Con
I thank the cabinet secretary for that reply, but the attainment gap in the Borders remains one of the worst in Scotland. Indeed, the Scottish National Party...
John Swinney SNP
Well, we know the cheerful, optimistic tone that John Lamont will be taking to the doors of the Borders over the course of the next few weeks. I was going to...