UK Edition
John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon 'misled Parliament' over school subject choice cut
John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon have misled Parliament by insisting subject choice has not been cut in Scotland's secondary schools despite their officials privately telling them otherwise, it has been alleged.
The Scottish Tories unveiled a previously secret civil service analysis, handed to Mr Swinney in May, stating that pupils are studying fewer courses since the introduction of the controversial Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).
The document, disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, said the average number of National-level course entries recorded by school leavers had fallen by 20 per cent under the new regime.
But Ms Sturgeon and Mr Swinney, her Education Minister, continued to publicly insist there had been no "narrowing of choice" for pupils or reduction in their qualifications.
Liz Smith, the Scottish Tories' Shadow Education Minister, said the pair had "misled" MSPs and were "clearly in denial" about children's learning opportunities being restricted.
She made the accusation ahead of a Holyrood debate on Wednesday, at which MSPs will discuss new academic research that concludes the attainment gap between the wealthiest and poorest pupils is widening.
The Telegraph has reported how Prof Jim Scott, of Dundee University, discovered the number of pupils leaving school with no qualifications has surged by almost 50 per cent since CfE's introduction in the 2013/14 academic year.
The academic's latest paper came after his previous research demonstrated how CfE has led to a dramatic drop in subject choice in S4 and a sharp decline in qualifications being passed, particularly in languages.
His research prompted a Holyrood inquiry, the highly-critical conclusions of which forced Mr Swinney to order an independent review in September of the "senior phase" of Scottish education.
But Ms Smith said the analysis showed the Education Minister was made aware of the problem four months earlier, despite his subsequent public denials.
She said: "This is conclusive proof that subject choice has been reduced across the entire senior phase from S4 to S6.
“Scottish Government officials told John Swinney exactly what was going wrong in our schools but he has spent months ignoring the evidence and pretending that all is well."
The documents show civil servants provided Mr Swinney with an analysis of the situation on May 20, marked "official - sensitive."
It was written in response to research by Mark Priestley, who sits on the Scottish Government Curriculum and Assessment board, and his Stirling University colleague, Dr Marina Shapira.
Mr Swinney's officials told him: "A range of data and information confirms that there are, on average, fewer subjects taken by pupils now than was the case prior to the introduction of CfE and the new qualifications."
They calculated that pupils had studied eight subjects at National level by the time they left school last year, compared to 10 in 2012/13, the year before CfE's introduction.
Their analysis said it was "unquestionable" that the subjects cuts had "disproportionately" affected some subjects, especially languages and social sciences.
But they said there was no "obvious pattern" to suggest pupils from deprived areas were suffering the most and there had been no "notable impact" yet on Highers.
Nine days after receiving the briefing, Mr Swinney told the Scottish Parliament that "I do not think" there has been a narrowing of subject choice, even claiming there was a "broadening of opportunity."
Ms Sturgeon told First Minister's Questions on June 13 that "what matters is the qualifications that young people leave school with" and "the evidence does not bear out" accusations of a cut.
But a Scottish Government spokesman said: “These claims are wrong – in fact, the number of courses on offer to pupils has increased.
“This analysis takes no account of differences before and after the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence, which helps equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for life in the 21st century.
"It means pupils learn a wide range of subjects up to S3. Schools then have the freedom to design a set of courses, qualifications and awards between S4 and S6, tailored to meet young people’s needs."