All Scottish school exams cancelled

Education Secretary John Swinney has announced all school exams due to take place this year have been cancelled.

It's after yesterday Nicola Sturgeon announced all schools will also be closing at the end of this week.

The First Minister said she could to not assume the schools would reopen after the easter holidays, but she also could not promise they would reopen before the summer holidays.

Instead of exams, pupils will be certified on coursework and teacher estimates of grades.

It is the first time in the history of Scottish education that exams have been cancelled.

Exams will not go ahead, but teaching, learning and support can continue with local flexibility.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney also confirmed that local authorities are taking measures to protect vulnerable children who rely on schools for hot meals or a safe and supportive environment.

• He also said children of key workers will have continuing access to learning or childcare.

Mr Swinney said: "My priorities are to ensure the health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff, and to maintain teaching and learning wherever this is possible, guided by the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and public health experts.

"Teaching, learning and support will continue – albeit in different ways for different groups of children. For the majority, this will be through distance learning and online learning, with different forms of on-going contact with teachers rather than in-school, face-to-face. Teachers and other staff who are well will continue to be working.

"For vulnerable children and those who have parents or carers employed as key workers, local authorities are developing approaches to support them. We will not cut adrift vulnerable young people who often rely on school life for hot meals or for a safe, nurturing and supportive environment.

"Parents are not expected to be a teacher or to recreate the school day - your school will be giving you some resources and suggestions as your first port of call.

"It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge we now face that the exams will not go ahead this year. With the support of the wider education system, a credible certification model can be put in place in the that can command confidence in the absence of the exam diet – to ensure that young people in our schools and colleges who through no fault of their own are unable to sit exams, are not disadvantaged."

Listen to our interview with Williamwood High School pupil Max Pearson below on what this means for him.

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