Bright spark pupils from across Perth and Kinross have recorded their best exam results in a decade.
Data from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has shown pupils in S4 and S6 have continued to improve across all key areas.
Their attainment is either the best, or equal to the best, results in over 10 years and is significantly higher than the national average.
The number of pupils in S4 achieving five or more awards at Intermediate 1/Standard Grade General has risen 5% since last year.
An impressive 88% were awarded these qualifications and similarly, the results for Intermediate 2/Standard Grade Credit level have shown an improvement of 6% in 12 months.
For the first time in five years, the percentage of S4 pupils who have attained five or more awards at Credit level is way above the comparator and national average.
In Perth and Kinross, 46% of pupils achieved these results the comparator level sits at 40%, while the national average is 38%.
In a report set to go before Perth and Kinross Council’s lifelong learning committee, education and children’s services executive director John Fyffe praised the work being done by local schools.
He said: “The results for S4 also reflect a continuing focus on inclusion and improving the attainment of our lowest achieving pupils and, for these pupils, performance is significantly above both the comparator and national averages.
“Following a year-on-year improvement over the past four years, once again almost all S4 pupils (98%) attained a minimum of English and mathematics at Access 3/Standard Grade Foundation.
“The percentage of S4 pupils attaining five or more awards at Access 3/Standard Grade Foundation or better has improved and is the best in five years.
“Improvement in the results of our lowest attaining pupils is also demonstrated by a 23 point average increase in the average tariff score for the 20% lowest performing S4 pupils over the past four years.”
It was a similar story for older pupils, with performance at S6 improving across all five key measures, hitting a 10-year high.
One in four pupils left school with at least one Advanced Higher, with performance sitting at 10% higher than the comparator and national average. This year’s exam results have also shown the gap between the attainment of pupils from the most deprived areas in Perth and Kinross has narrowed.
Although there was a greater increase in the average score across all S4 pupils, pupils living in deprived areas achieved the highest average tariff score compared to the last five years.
Between 2009 and 2013, the average score of the 20% most deprived local datazones rose from 114 to 147.
While pupils from S5 also marked an incredible year, giving their best performance in over a decade across all key measures, performance dipped slightly.
The number of students achieving at least one Higher dropped from 52% to 50%, while those being awarded at least three Highers went from 34% to 30%.
Despite this, the results still remain either in line with, or above the comparator and national average.
Lifelong learning convener Councillor Bob Band welcomed the report, saying: “It is clear from this latest assessment of our pupils’ educational attainment that work within schools is making a difference to their progress.
“Our approach is very much that academic success is important, but should also be placed within the wider context of children and young people’s overall achievements.”