MORAY COUNCIL IS one of several Scottish local authorities who have missed out on additional funding from a flagship scheme designed to help less financially well-off students.
Moray was one of just a handful of councils who received no support whatsoever from the cash pot that is designed to close the educational attainment gap in Scotland – leaving the region facing an education ‘postcode lottery’ according to Labour leader and Moray-educated Kezia Dugdale.
Ms Dugdale said: “More than 1500 schools in Scotland get no extra support from the Scottish Government to cut the attainment gap – and neither does one-third of our councils.
“Nicola Sturgeon said education would be her number one priority – but in parts of the country she is doing nothing to help, and after nearly a decade in power and a majority in parliament there are no excuses for the SNP not to be using the new powers coming to Scotland to build a future for your young people.”
However, a Scottish Government spokeswoman hit back by saying that removing the barriers preventing children from realising their potential remained a “key priority”.
She said: “Our commitment to closing the attainment gap has seen a number of young people from the most deprived communities leaving school with no qualifications at level 3 or better drop significantly.”