Borders high school headteachers react to exam results

Marks were issued to students across Scotland today (August 6).

The Borders remains in the top quartile for youngsters achieving 'positive destinations' – including higher education, further education, employment, training, personal skills development and voluntary work.

Here is what headteachers in the region had to say on results day.

Susan Oliver, Jedburgh Grammar Campus

“We are very proud of our young people and staff who have worked tirelessly throughout the year, making the most of additional lunch, after-school, Easter holiday, and 1-1 tutorial sessions. These cumulative efforts have resulted in positive attainment across all year groups, with pass rates in S4, S5, and S6 above the JGC average. 

“We are particularly delighted with the increase in the number of young people leaving school with five Highers. 

“Congratulations and thank you to our young people, parents/carers and staff for their hard work and support and best wishes to all our leavers as they embark on the next stage of their journey.

“We are also celebrating some superb individual success stories, including from young people who have faced significant personal challenges throughout the year. Our heartfelt congratulations to them and to the team of professionals who have provided unwavering support during this time.

“As always, the pride in our young people covers their wide range of achievements, which are not fully captured by the formal examination system. These achievements range from personal successes to regional and national accomplishments. The development of skills for life, learning and work among our children and young people, along with securing positive destinations for our school leavers, continue to be JGC priorities and areas of strength.

Alex Johnson, Earlston High School

“We are incredibly proud of all our S4, S5 and S6 pupils. The 2024 results for Earlston High School are testimony to their hard work, dedication, and resilience. 

“All their achievements reflect not only their individual efforts, but also the unwavering support from our dedicated teachers, staff, and families. 

“Our staff continue to innovate and look to provide engaging and motivating courses and lessons that meet the needs of our learners. The outcomes are successes which embody our school community’s commitment to excellence.”

Jill Lothian, Kelso High School

“We are very proud of all our young people and their continued efforts throughout this last session. 

“With ongoing support from our staff, families and the wider Kelso High School community, the dedication, determination and perseverance demonstrated by our learners has enabled them to achieve their individual targets and goals.”

Jamie Bryson, Selkirk High School

“We are very proud of our students, whatever their results. Behind so many individual results lies a story of resilience and tremendous effort and we pay tribute to all our students, whatever their results, and to all those who support them at home and at school. 

“Alongside fantastic individual results, it’s particularly satisfying this year to see the breadth of achievement at Level 5 and 6 with students achieving awards in a wider range of courses than ever before. Well done!”

Emma Dickson, Berwickshire High School

“We are so proud of you, our Berwickshire High School students, and all your efforts in working towards the results you receive today. We hope you have achieved everything you wanted. As ever, we are here to help you in planning your next steps. 

“A special thank you goes to our brilliant staff team who have worked so hard in supporting pupils along the way.”

Kevin Ryalls, Peebles High School

“I am pleased to recognise the tremendous efforts of our school community who have worked so well together to produce a very pleasing set of exam results and successful course completion rates for session 2023-24.  These were achieved through strong relationships, support and challenge and determination to succeed.  

“It is also important to us that all young people fulfil their own potential and there are many positive stories, and we will continue to work hard for all our young people moving forward.

“Behind each statistic is an individual and I want to pay tribute to each and every one of them to say well done for your efforts. I would like to also thank our parents who support the school and our young people so well. We work with many partners who also play a very important role in these successes, and we really appreciate this support. Finally, I want to recognise the efforts of our fantastic staff team who care for and encourage our young people so well.”

Pauline Anderson, Galashiels Academy

“Galashiels Academy community congratulates students on their hard work and many SQA successes this year. We are leading the way with our SCQF Gold Curriculum which allows pupils to achieve the highest awards they are capable of in our sector-leading range of courses designed to meet our students’ needs.

“We are proud of the success of our S4 cohort who despite challenges have exceeded expectations, especially at the Level 4 benchmark and many have achieved top awards in their National 5 courses. Building on strong attainment last year we are proud to report on improved attainment this year in S5.  Most of our S6 cohort leave us with 5 or more Level 6 qualifications.

“Importantly, in our increasingly diverse school community, almost all of our leavers have secured positive destinations which is testament to our strong partnership working. We have four leavers from our enhanced provision who are in this category and leave us with a package of five or more qualifications.

“We anticipate when further taking all our other unique and diverse qualifications into account, that our attainment data will be even stronger demonstrating our commitment to our school vision of values, skills and qualifications to be the best we can be.

“These results set us on the right path for moving into our new Galashiels Academy campus, and we are excited to further excel in our levels of achievement. Thank you and well done to all our Galashiels Academy community!”

Lisa Scott, Hawick High School

“We are delighted that Hawick High School has sustained the progress in attainment seen over the past four years. This remarkable achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our staff and students.

“Our school has demonstrated strong overall attainment across all year groups, maintaining the high standards we set. Notably, there has been an increase in the number of A-C awards achieved by our students. Our performance in Literacy remains consistently strong, and we continue to see improvements in Numeracy, particularly at National 5. We are proud to report that more students are leaving Hawick High School with a greater number of qualifications than ever before.

“We celebrate the examination achievements of all our students, with particular recognition of the outstanding individual performances from several of our S4, S5, and S6 students. Each young person’s success is a source of pride for the school, their parents and carers, and the wider community.

“We extend our heartfelt thanks to all parents, carers, and community supporters for their invaluable contributions. Lastly, a huge well done to every one of our learners – your hard work and achievements are truly commendable”.

Robin Chapman, Eyemouth High School

“It’s been another really pleasing series of results, as Senior pupils have shown that they can achieve across many different areas of learning. 

“I would like to pay tribute to their hard work, the support and expertise of staff who work at the school and the care and backing of their families. For those in S6 we wish them success in the many and varied different positive destinations which they are now moving on to.”