Pupils at Nicola Sturgeon’s former school have said their plans are back on track after they helped prompt the first minister’s dramatic exam grades U-turn.
Nicole Tait and Ellie Little, both 16, made a personal plea in The Sunday Post last week asking the SNP leader to sort out the exams fiasco.
Nicole took part in a Zoom call with Education Secretary John Swinney the day after we published her letter. Mr Swinney later announced the downgrades for 124,000 pupils would be scrapped and grades would be based on teachers’ estimates.
Nicole, who attends Ms Sturgeon’s former school, Greenwood Academy in Dreghorn, near Irvine, in North Ayrshire, said: “If we hadn’t given him a true representation of how young people felt, I don’t think we’d be in the position we are today.”
The U-turn means upgrading for three of Nicole’s subjects and two for Ellie, who will now go on to study an HNC in social sciences.
Nicole said: “My plans are to stay on at school and get the grades I need to apply for university.”
Announcing the U-turn on Tuesday, former SNP leader Mr Swinney confirmed he had spoken with Nicole and other pupils, adding: “I thank them for the passion and clarity they brought to our discussions”.
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