PUPILS have been sharing their results and experiences of learning without traditional exams in Dumbarton and the Vale.

Youngsters found out last week how they did in National 4, National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers but without exams for the second year in a row.

The percentage of pupils achieving top grades soared to new highs across West Dunbartonshire under a system of continuous teacher assessment mixed with moderation and “quality assurance”.

West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) said the Higher pass rate increased by 16.3 per cent on 2020, up to 96 per cent.

Ninety-seven per cent of pupils gained one or more qualification and 76 per cent of passes were either an A or B.

Advanced Highers saw an 11 per cent increase in the pass rate, up to 95 per cent, with 95 per cent getting one or more qualifications.

Three quarters of all passes were either A or B.

The council said 93 per cent or 3,980 of National 5 results were passes, an increase of 9 per cent from last year.

And 72 per cent of National 5 awards saw pupils getting A or B grades.

The National 4 pass rate remained at 93 per cent, as in 2020.

Dumbarton Academy’s Jennifer Inglis, 16, got three As and three Bs in her Highers this year and will be preparing to do Advanced Highers next year.

She told the Reporter the system might go more to how universities operate with continual assessment.

She said: “It’s a better way of measuring whether you’re actually learning something.

“If you’re told how you’re doing, it gives opportunity to improve rather than coming down to one day.

“We were getting information on how exams would be at the same time as teachers so they were trying their best to prepare for every circumstance.

The Scottish Government boasted that the number of Higher passes was the highest since devolution, but the pass rate has gone down.

Last year hundreds of thousands of pupils saw their marks improve after the SQA had pegged their results to a school’s past performance, effectively punishing those from more deprived areas.

Christopher Smith, head teacher at Our Lady and St Patrick’s High, said: “From the experience of the previous year, there was more approaches you could have in place.

"There was more anxiety last year.

"This year pupils finished knowing what [grades] teachers had estimated them for.

“There was still a level of uncertainty. The year before, it took them by surprise and caused a lot of upset.

"Pupils put in a lot of effort and they should be applauded for that hard graft.

“We are delighted and in the circumstances we couldn’t ask for anything better.”

OLSP’s Amy McInnes, 18, got three As, two in Highers, one Advanced Higher and will be starting her studies in microbiology and pharmacology at Strathclyde University next month.

She told the Reporter: “I’m really happy with the results. It was a really difficult year all in, but I never felt I was really struggling.

"Teachers were really supportive. Teachers helped pull everyone through.”

Meanwhile, Nicholas Dunn, 17, got six As in his Highers subjects and said he was delighted - and confirmed his ambitions to study medicine.

Offering advice to other pupils, he said: “I have not sat a proper exam but there was a lot of uncertainty but overall it was ok. Get support if you need it and keep in contact with friends.”

Isla MacFarlane, 18, did her foundation apprenticeship this year at Vale of Leven Academy and will be studying for a HNC in childhood practice at West College Scotland.

She had hoped the apprenticeship would give her a practical taste for her future training but the pandemic meant she was only able to do online learning.

Fellow Vale pupil Daniel Wreford, 17, got a B and two Cs in his Advanced Highers and will be studying astrophysics at Glasgow University.

He said some things changed with the pandemic, such as not being able to do experiments, which is normally 20 per cent of his results.

And Leona Boyd, 18, got an A in her Advanced Higher result, a B at Higher and an A at Nat 5.

She will be doing fine art at Robert Gordon University.

She said: “I struggled more last year. I rely on the social side as well - I had a vision of what sixth year would be.”

Not all results were Highers or Advanced Highers but pupils were thrilled with how they did.

Ciaran Buchanan, 19, was the first to do a Nat 5 in music at Kilpatrick School, while fellow pupil Kathleen Speakman, 17, did a Nat 5 in hairdressing last year and 25 learning units this year.

Head teacher Louise McMahon said: “We were over the moon. Internal assessment is what we do.

"We’re very proud and very ambitious for our young people and look for other opportunities to attain and achieve.”

Ciaran added: “I’m proud of myself.”