All of Scotland’s 2020 school exams have been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Education secretary and deputy first minister John Swinney made the announcement during an update on the situation regarding schools in Holyrood on Thursday afternoon.
It is the first time Scotland’s exams have ever have been cancelled.
Mr Swinney said: “In all of our history Scotland has never cancelled our exams. In the midst of two world wars the exams went ahead.
“It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge we now face that I must today announce the exams will not go ahead this year.
“I am aware of how significant a step this is.”
He said the decision to cancel the 2020 exam diet is an “unprecedented one in unprecedented times”.
Mr Swinney added: “Whilst the protection of life is our over-riding priority here, we must do our utmost to ensure that the interests and life chances of our young people due to sit exams from the end of April are protected.
“Their achievements must be rightly and fairly recognised. I want the 2020 cohort to hold their heads high and gain the qualification and rewards they deserve after many years of hard work.
“I know they will be very worried by the situation they face and I want them to be assured that we are doing all that we can to deliver the best outcome for them.”
He said there are plans for a “credible certification model” in the absence of exams which will ensure that students will not be “in any way disadvantaged”.
It will use coursework, teacher assessments of grades and previous attainments as its basis.
