THE number of young people in Clackmannanshire who achieved two highers or more in their exams increased by seven per cent, according to the council.

More than 1,000 pupils were presented for almost 5,000 SQA qualifications, ranging from National 1 to National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher, life and work skills, and personal development awards.

From this year's diet there has been an improvement in the number and quality of awards in English and maths across all of the county's secondary schools at National 5 and Higher levels.

The local authority has also reported A passes at higher have increased by a fifth and the number of pupils gaining personal development awards has also grown.

The achievement of young people from some of the most disadvantage backgrounds is also said to have improved, with a significant increase in their pass rate at Higher.

Officials have praised the young people across the county, while thanking school staff, parents and carers, for their success.

Councillor Graham Lindsay, education spokesperson, said: "I am very proud of all the young people in Clackmannanshire who have worked hard to get their results.

"It is particularly rewarding to see the improvements in English and maths, as well as the number of our young people with additional barriers to learning who have achieved at National 3 and 4 level, and other awards.

"I would like to thank all our school staff and parents and carers for their support in encouraging our pupils to aspire and achieve.

"This demonstrates the improvements across the education service in improving outcomes for all our children and young people in Clackmannanshire."

With Curriculum for Excellence now fully embedded in schools, young people have the opportunity to develop a portfolio of qualifications and awards throughout their senior phase of education, from S4 to S6.

The preliminary results are expected to further improve once all units are submitted and the post-results service is complete.

All post-results data plus the full set of awards gained will be updated when the national online benchmarking data is published in February 2019.

Schools are providing help and advice for candidates following the issuing of the exam results.

The Skills Development Scotland (SDS) exams results helpline (0808 100 8000) offers advice, information and support for young people and their parents.

Information is also available on SDS’s My World of Work web service myworldofwork.co.uk and there is information about modern apprenticeships and foundation apprenticeships at apprenticeships.scot

Students can also access help, advice and support via SDS’s Facebook page which has practical help and links to UCAS, SAAS, Young Scot and the SQA.

The SQA candidate advice line provides information for candidates on the content and layout of their certificate, details available on the candidate’s results paperwork.