Coronavirus: John Swinney sets out pupil exam options
Coronavirus: Scottish exams cancelled for first time in history
(about 2 hours later)
The Scottish education secretary has set out three options for pupils who are due to sit exams this spring.
Exams for Scottish school pupils will not take place this year, the education secretary has announced.
Nationals and Highers could still go ahead in schools with social distancing measures in place, though John Swinney said this would be "difficult".
John Swinney told MSPs the "unprecedented" move was a measure of the "gravity" of the situation caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The other options are delaying exams or using "alternative certification" methods, including coursework.
It is the first time the exams have been cancelled since the system was put in place in 1888.
All Scottish schools will shut this week in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The Scottish government announced on Wednesday that all Scottish schools would be closing on Friday.
Mr Swinney said a model would be put in place to ensure that young people in schools and colleges who were unable to sit exams would not in any way be disadvantaged.
It is likely pupils will be graded on coursework, prior attainment and teacher judgement.
Mr Swinney said: "In all of our history Scotland has never cancelled the exams. Since 1888 they have been held every May and June without fail.
"In the midst of two world wars the exams went ahead.
"It is a measure of the gravity of the challenges that we now face that I must today announce that the exams will not go ahead this year."
Schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will also be closing.
Schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will also be closing.
Mr Swinney told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland that he suspected schools in Scotland would be closed for the whole of the summer term.
The UK government has already announced that GCSEs and A-levels in England and Wales will be cancelled.
The three options are currently being considered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority which will set out its recommendation to ministers later.
Six people have now died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus.
"We could continue to run an exam diet. It may be possible with proper social distancing in place in schools, but it's logistically very different to the normal way of running exams," Mr Swinney said.
The first minister told the Scottish Parliament on Thursday that the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 had risen to 266, an increase of 39 from Wednesday.
"We'd have to separate the children up into numerous groups around a school - much smaller groups, with many more invigilators."
But Nicola Sturgeon warned the figures were "likely to be an underestimate".
Exams could also be delayed until later in the year, but Mr Swinney said there was "uncertainty" around that option as it was difficult to predict how long the coronavirus crisis would last.
The third option would be to grade pupils on coursework, prior attainment and teacher judgement.
Mr Swinney will confirm the Scottish government's course of action in Parliament on Thursday afternoon.
When asked if the crisis could last as long as 18 months, the minister said: "I really hope we are not in that length of period but I can't sit here and say in all honesty that I know the answer to your question."
He added: "What I do know is that we are in a much more advanced position today about the delivery of education by means other than children attending school than we have been at any moment in our history.
"So we can use digital approaches to ensure that we sustain the education for young people around the country."
The UK government has said that GCSEs and A-levels in England and Wales will be cancelled.
Following the announcement, schools and universities have called for clarity, saying pupils should not lose the chance to go on to higher education this year because of the move.
The UK government says there are plans to ensure children receive qualifications.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Scotland now stands at 266 - although the actual figure is likely to be much higher.
