Here, we take a look at the five high schools in Falkirk district which are outperforming government-set benchmarks for the proportion of pupils passing five or more Highers.
League tables are often seen as a blunt instrument to measure exam performance by as they fail to take into account the types of pupil attending each school.
As a result, the Scottish Government sets benchmarks to take into account the types of pupils attending the school.
Schools are each given a ‘virtual comparator’ - a group of pupils from elsewhere in Scotland with the same characteristics as the pupils in the school, in terms of their gender, the number with additional support needs and societal factors such as deprivation levels. The attainment levels of this comparator group is then used as a benchmark to measure the school’s actual performance against.
Across Scotland, 41 per cent of schools had more pupils getting five or more Highers than their virtual comparator, while 52 per cent scored worse than their benchmark and the rest scored the same.
Here are the schools in Falkirk district which performed better than their ‘virtual comparator’.
1. Braes High School, Reddingmuirhead
At Braes High, 57 per cent of pupils left with at least five Highers in 2022. This is 46 percentage points better than its virtual comparator. Photo: john devlin
2. Graeme High School, Falkirk
At Graeme High, 42 per cent of pupils left with at least five Highers in 2022. This is 34 percentage points better than its virtual comparator. Photo: Scott Louden
3. Bo'ness Academy, Bo'ness
At Bo'ness Academy, 33 per cent of pupils left with at least five Highers in 2022. This is 29 percentage points better than its virtual comparator. Photo: Photographer: Scott Louden
4. St Mungo's RC High School, Falkirk
At St Mungo's, 41 per cent of pupils left with at least five Highers in 2022. This is 38 percentage points better than its virtual comparator. Photo: Michael Gillen