:00:03. > :00:11.You can see more of that report on Our World on the news channel this
:00:11. > :00:15.weekend. Tonight on Newsnight Scotland,
:00:15. > :00:18.congratulations to all those students who got their Higher and
:00:18. > :00:22.Standard Grade results today. But have they been taught the right
:00:22. > :00:27.things to succeed either in a job or higher education?
:00:27. > :00:32.And wide at East Africans so good at running? We speak to the Scottish
:00:32. > :00:35.doctor who has run across Kenya to find out what we can learn from
:00:35. > :00:39.their success. Good evening. Whether by post or
:00:39. > :00:45.text message, these will be the last students to receive Standard Grades
:00:45. > :00:50.results, next year being replaced by new exams, Nationals, but will those
:00:50. > :00:55.get pupils -- will do is leave pupils better equipped to handle
:00:55. > :00:58.what is next. Both employers and teachers in higher education have
:00:58. > :01:03.been critical of the lack of skills among school leavers.
:01:03. > :01:09.CHEERING. At Glasgow's Bellahouston Academy today, a familiar scene
:01:09. > :01:14.across Scottish schools. More than 150,000 candidates, most of them
:01:14. > :01:23.secondary pupils, got their exam results and across the country, past
:01:23. > :01:28.-- pass rates went up. Taking Glasgow as an example, results are
:01:28. > :01:33.not, attendance up, exclusions down, but along with improvement
:01:33. > :01:38.comes with the question our exams getting easier and features getting
:01:38. > :01:41.better at coaching pupils to pass them? For those working in the
:01:41. > :01:48.education system, the anthers are pretty clear-cut. There is no
:01:48. > :01:53.evidence, certainly in Scotland, for the sort of grade inflation, about
:01:53. > :01:58.which there are suspicions, maybe in other parts of the UK. The fact of
:01:58. > :02:03.the matter is very much that these results are explained entirely by
:02:03. > :02:09.the ongoing commitment and hard work of teachers and schools like this
:02:09. > :02:17.and across the city and the country. As well as the ongoing hard work and
:02:17. > :02:23.application of the young people themselves. That is the story. And
:02:23. > :02:27.pupils like Adam McInnes say they have worked hard to get results.
:02:27. > :02:32.think it is disappointing, because young people do work very hard and
:02:32. > :02:38.you give up so much and to hear it belittled, it is disappointing. You
:02:38. > :02:42.work very hard. I think you deserve praise for what you achieve. Maybe
:02:42. > :02:47.things are different, but we are working with how things are now.
:02:48. > :02:53.is that exam system fit for the modern age? Brian Boyd, a former
:02:53. > :02:59.headteacher, says it needs to be looked at again. I am not sure the
:02:59. > :03:03.examination system serves the needs of young people very well. Tripping
:03:03. > :03:09.hundreds of young people into a hall, sitting in silence, writing
:03:09. > :03:13.fast for three hours, it will not do in the 21st century. If you want
:03:13. > :03:18.critical and creative thinkers, team players, self-directed workers, the
:03:18. > :03:23.examination system does not tell you much about those skills, but narrows
:03:23. > :03:26.the range of learning opportunities in fifth year and it is only in
:03:26. > :03:31.sixth year that children can flourish, because the pressure is
:03:31. > :03:36.off and they can be creative and relax. It is time for a long, hard
:03:36. > :03:39.look at the current system. I am encouraged by the standards I have
:03:39. > :03:44.seen... So do employers think Scotland's young people are prepared
:03:44. > :03:48.for the world of work are sure Mark Bryan Buchan heads up Scottish
:03:48. > :03:53.Engineering and reckons the country has entered a golden age when it
:03:53. > :03:58.comes to pupils' standards and he is more concerned with university
:03:58. > :04:04.graduates. There is a tremendous work ethic amongst this generation,
:04:04. > :04:10.who really want to succeed. There is a drive to 60 die have not seen in
:04:10. > :04:13.previous generations. As far as -- there is a drive to succeed I have
:04:13. > :04:19.not seen in previous generations. But we have graduates we're there is
:04:19. > :04:24.work to do to make sure those people coming out with good degrees are
:04:24. > :04:29.actually industry ready. So might we see that kind of reforms recently
:04:29. > :04:35.outlined south of the border? Education Secretary Michael Gove set
:04:35. > :04:40.out plans to reform GCSE two with tougher exams and a move away from
:04:40. > :04:45.coursework. Young people in this country deserve an education system
:04:45. > :04:49.that can compete with the best of the world, assist in setting and
:04:49. > :04:54.achieving higher expectations. that is not a path the government in
:04:54. > :04:58.Scotland plans to go down. What we are trying to do in Scotland is
:04:58. > :05:03.ensured our education system is aligned closely to the needs of our
:05:03. > :05:07.economy. We want to prepare young people for lifelong learning,
:05:07. > :05:11.equipped young people to be responsible citizens, but at the
:05:11. > :05:17.heart of the education system, we need to prepare young people for the
:05:17. > :05:24.world of work. We have seen many changes to education in recent
:05:24. > :05:29.years. The introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence, for
:05:29. > :05:34.example, and after more than 20 years, Standard Grades have come to
:05:34. > :05:40.an end, all part of a drive to help ensure the system evolves to meet
:05:40. > :05:43.the needs of an ever-changing world. I am joined in the studio by the
:05:43. > :05:46.general secretary of the teaching union, the EIS, Larry Flanagan. And
:05:46. > :05:51.from Edinburgh by Lindsay Paterson, who is professor of education policy
:05:51. > :05:56.at Edinburgh University. Lindsay Paterson, it is alleged that we have
:05:56. > :06:02.these different approaches, from the government, a new exams system
:06:02. > :06:06.coming in from next year, these Nationals, meanwhile Michael Gove
:06:06. > :06:15.down south talking about a different system there, reforming GCSEs. Is
:06:15. > :06:20.there really any real difference in approach between the two systems?
:06:20. > :06:24.Yes, there is an emerging and interesting difference, one that
:06:24. > :06:30.there will be a lot more emphasis on exams under Michael Gove's. Forms
:06:30. > :06:33.than there will be in Scotland, which is very important. It is
:06:33. > :06:40.important in one respect, because exams do not give unfitted Vantage
:06:40. > :06:45.to people who can get help outside the classroom. And on the one hand,
:06:45. > :06:49.it is fear in Scotland, because some people do better with so-called
:06:49. > :06:54.continuous assessment than in the final exams. The other major
:06:54. > :06:57.difference is that Michael Gove seems to place more emphasis on what
:06:57. > :07:03.he calls traditional academic knowledge, whereas in Scotland,
:07:03. > :07:10.there is an increasing focus on preparing people for life and work.
:07:10. > :07:14.But what is that, in practice, what does it mean to say preparing people
:07:14. > :07:20.for life and work, and that that is different for teaching people
:07:20. > :07:25.traditional academic values? That is the nub of the matter.
:07:25. > :07:30.Traditionally, using that term, preparing people to think, engaging
:07:30. > :07:34.them with the tradition of academic thought was thought to be the best
:07:34. > :07:39.way to prepare people for life and work. It is only in the last 20-30
:07:39. > :07:43.years that there has been a contrast between vocational approaches and
:07:43. > :07:48.the kind of approach adopted by Michael Gove. In practice, it
:07:48. > :07:52.probably means less attention in Scotland than in England in future
:07:52. > :08:00.to learning about traditional structures of academic disciplines,
:08:00. > :08:04.moron cross curricular activities and applied knowledge. -- increasing
:08:04. > :08:11.cross curricular activities. It will mean the emphasis on bad tackle
:08:11. > :08:13.applications will be more important. Is that your view? That
:08:13. > :08:23.is a fair assessment in terms of where we are in terms of the
:08:23. > :08:23.
:08:23. > :08:33.emergence... But those receiving their results today are the last to
:08:33. > :08:42.set Standard Grades. And next year, I am sure the Curriculum for
:08:42. > :08:46.Next year's they will be the first to engage with Curriculum for
:08:46. > :08:53.Excellence. What will be the difference between the Nationals and
:08:53. > :08:59.the Standard Grades? Two key issues. There will be a difference
:08:59. > :09:03.in the nature of the exam, and as indicated, broadening out of what is
:09:03. > :09:09.assessed, so the units, for example, will look at how you apply
:09:09. > :09:15.skills, knowledge and understanding, rather than you pass a test. The
:09:15. > :09:18.bigger difference the senior fees from four to six is some of the
:09:18. > :09:24.issues you're introduction address, concerns about brother values of
:09:24. > :09:28.education, there should be space within the senior fees for schools
:09:28. > :09:36.to engage with that. Weird as at the moment, the upper half of secondary
:09:36. > :09:39.school is dominated by young people on a treadmill of assessment.
:09:39. > :09:43.Curriculum for Excellence senior fees is trying to it increase space
:09:43. > :09:50.and breadth in terms of learning experience. Traditionally, next
:09:50. > :09:56.year, people might not see much of a difference. Because it is a big step
:09:56. > :10:01.forward. I think it will take a few years. A lot of schools next year
:10:01. > :10:07.are simply replacing their current Standard Grades exams national four
:10:07. > :10:16.and five stop these broader and arguably vaguer aspirations, which
:10:16. > :10:20.this grotty system has, --... guaranteeing there will be anything
:10:20. > :10:24.in place that can measure these broader and arguably vaguer
:10:24. > :10:31.aspirations? There could be a serious question about what the
:10:31. > :10:38.purpose of this is? I do not know whether we will broaden all these
:10:38. > :10:44.other things, we have quite traditional exams, I do not think
:10:44. > :10:48.the Nationals up revolutionary in any sense at all. One of the things
:10:48. > :10:53.about this emphasis on application is it threatens to narrow down
:10:53. > :10:58.thinking. The best way to make people think creatively is what
:10:58. > :11:03.Michael Gove is trying to achieve, which is to get people to engage
:11:03. > :11:07.with the widest set of ideas, debate them, read what the best thinkers
:11:07. > :11:12.have thought about and respond to them. That has always been thought
:11:12. > :11:17.to be the best way to make creative minds and the best way to do that is
:11:17. > :11:23.not to force them into applied knowledge prematurely. Is there a
:11:23. > :11:27.point in that? I agree the role in deep study, in terms of subject
:11:27. > :11:34.disciplines, is important and one of the aims of Curriculum for
:11:34. > :11:39.Excellence is to create that in more depth. But a lot of parents...One
:11:39. > :11:45.of the key issues here is not everything that is achievable has to
:11:45. > :11:49.be assessed through an exam system. Speaking about self-confidence in
:11:49. > :11:55.young people, that is not something you can easily assess, but it is an
:11:55. > :12:01.aspiration. It would be great to encourage self-confidence, and for
:12:01. > :12:06.people to have a broader view, but if you are a university, or further
:12:06. > :12:11.education college, or employer, you needs metric by which you can see
:12:11. > :12:13.you would like take that one, but not that one, and the worry for
:12:13. > :12:22.parents and perhaps students themselves is this sounds terribly
:12:22. > :12:26.fine, but wouldn't it be better if I was taught old-fashioned ways to be
:12:26. > :12:31.good at mathematics, physics and chemistry and English and French?
:12:31. > :12:37.The other stuff can be around the edges. We want young people to be
:12:37. > :12:41.good at all these subjects, but one issue raised is that young people
:12:41. > :12:46.can actually learn how to pass an exam without necessarily learning
:12:46. > :12:50.about the subject, which has been one of the criticisms of the exams
:12:50. > :12:55.system. The coaching towards passing the exam becomes more important than
:12:55. > :12:58.the understanding and depth of knowledge. The changes being looked
:12:58. > :13:02.at in terms of the new qualifications are trying to read
:13:02. > :13:07.dressed that balance. One of the things I noticed, a discussion
:13:07. > :13:09.several weeks ago on this programme, about the London challenge, the
:13:09. > :13:15.extraordinary way they have done schools around in London, and
:13:15. > :13:19.looking at some of the rhetoric around Curriculum for Excellence,
:13:19. > :13:25.what did not seem to be there, and I might be wrong, is what was central
:13:25. > :13:29.to that, the idea of aspiration and that every child should have
:13:29. > :13:34.aspiration and what seems to be put into them in London is it does not
:13:34. > :13:41.matter how disadvantaged you are, it is you should think you will be as
:13:41. > :13:45.good as absolutely anybody else. That is right. There is a variation
:13:46. > :13:52.in ability, that is undoubted. It stretches across all social group.
:13:52. > :13:56.It hes a appropriate to have high, challenging aspirations for, let us
:13:56. > :14:03.say, people living in poverty as people in affluent suburbs. That
:14:03. > :14:08.should be a fundamental pl, and used to be a fundamental principle of the
:14:08. > :14:11.Scottish education system. We are losing it for everyone. We are not
:14:11. > :14:15.talking about intellectual challenges being the main purpose of
:14:15. > :14:19.the education system, is it is there as one of many challenges. It loses
:14:19. > :14:24.what is supposed to be the core feature of any education system,
:14:24. > :14:29.which is to stretch people intellectually. Thank you for coming
:14:29. > :14:34.Now, running is supposed to be good for you.
:14:34. > :14:35.Tens of thousands of peope of all ages take part in 10k races and even
:14:35. > :14:38.marathons, and the health benefits are obvious.
:14:38. > :14:40.But a young Scottish doctor has taken it to the limit.
:14:40. > :14:44.Dr Andrew Murray runs ultra marathons.
:14:44. > :14:47.Three years ago, for example, he ran from Scotland to Africa in 85 days.
:14:47. > :14:50.That's more than 30 miles a day, for nearly three months.
:14:50. > :14:53.The health benefits of that may not be so obvious.
:14:53. > :14:56.More recently, last month, he combined his interests by running
:14:56. > :14:59.round Kenya, investigating the idea there's a scientific reason why
:14:59. > :15:03.people who come from that region are so spectacularly good at distance
:15:03. > :15:13.running. We'll hear from him in a few
:15:13. > :15:33.
:15:33. > :15:40.groets to Morocco, accompanied by a documentary film crew. I'm fine.
:15:40. > :15:46.Very uncomfortable. There was no record to beat for this sort of
:15:46. > :15:53.performance, nobody else had tried! The next big adventure drew on his
:15:53. > :15:59.professional, scientific and medical interests. How come the world's top
:15:59. > :16:06.marathon runners come from Kenya. It is a statistic that so amazing it
:16:06. > :16:13.borders on the absurd. Has been running in and around the hills of
:16:13. > :16:18.Kenya who produce a disproportionate number of fast runners, is that due
:16:18. > :16:28.to the environment, altitude and environment are perfect for training
:16:28. > :16:32.
:16:33. > :16:37.or a genetic kweshg or is it that success breeds success.
:16:37. > :16:42.Dr Andrew Murray joins me now from Edinburgh. What was it like doing
:16:42. > :16:49.that? It was absolutely fantastic. Kenya is one of the most extreme and
:16:49. > :16:58.most beautiful parts of the world. Running 900 kilometers through
:16:58. > :17:03.up-and-over Mount Kill minute jar owe, up-and-over Mount Kenya and
:17:03. > :17:07.tropical rainforest might sound arduous. Although the altitude is
:17:07. > :17:11.great, the heat is great as well. Did you find that physically you
:17:12. > :17:21.were adjusted to that? Well, it was great to have expertise and to take
:17:21. > :17:30.the advice from the experts and getting advice from Olympics
:17:30. > :17:32.champions, world charp champions and record Breakers. You go through
:17:32. > :17:36.pretty incredible temperature differences. It's very hot at the
:17:36. > :17:44.bottom. You run through tropical rainforest, cloud forest with the
:17:44. > :17:52.monkeys and things as that. Up into the moorland and the glacier before
:17:52. > :17:58.you you hit the summit and back down. What did you learn about why
:17:58. > :18:03.East Africa seems to produce such extraordinary runners? The Rift
:18:04. > :18:08.Valley region of Kenya is the single greatest and most productive line of
:18:08. > :18:12.talent in world sport, in any sport. Just fascinating to work out what is
:18:12. > :18:17.behind this. I actually thought it might be a genetic thing or a secret
:18:17. > :18:21.sauce they ate, but I was investigating the reason that
:18:21. > :18:28.actually 11 medallists in the last World Championship came from one
:18:28. > :18:31.village. One village produced more medallists at the last World
:18:31. > :18:37.Championship than a combination of China and Britain. There is no
:18:37. > :18:40.evidence there is genetic factors involved in it? A huge number of
:18:40. > :18:47.studies have been done in collaboration with Glasgow and
:18:47. > :18:52.Kenya. There is no genetic basis. Champions are not born, made. Kenya
:18:52. > :18:58.makes champions better than anyone else. It's not genetics and it's
:18:58. > :19:02.made. What makes them, is it dedication? A lot of factors that by
:19:02. > :19:05.themselves are not sufficient, but necessary to make a champion. Kenya
:19:05. > :19:09.produces champions better than most. They train extremely hard. They eat
:19:09. > :19:17.the right sort of things. Something that in Scotland perhaps we are not
:19:17. > :19:22.quite as good at as a population. What do they eat? Their diet is
:19:22. > :19:29.carbohydrates, 70% carbohydrates, fresh organic produce from the
:19:29. > :19:32.farms. Most live rurally and live a peasant up bringing and run from
:19:33. > :19:37.school and work. They have a lifetime of training. They dedicate
:19:37. > :19:45.themle selves to it. There is role modelling. In Scotland we have
:19:45. > :19:52.fantastic role models for sport, Chris Hoy, Andrew Murray, most of
:19:52. > :19:55.their role models are runners. It's about everything coming together -
:19:55. > :19:59.In the village there must be an element, because it has been
:19:59. > :20:04.successful already. Presumably it's a way out of poverty for some of
:20:04. > :20:07.these people - the statistics - you wrote an article, you said 800 of
:20:08. > :20:11.the 4,000 population are professional runners? It's absurd.
:20:11. > :20:16.There is more traffic in terms of people running and cows on the
:20:16. > :20:20.street than there are motorcars. The most expensive cars and houses are
:20:20. > :20:23.owned by professional runners. People look towards these people.
:20:24. > :20:29.They see success. They see that could be a way for them as well. An
:20:29. > :20:33.example of one World Champion looking at his neighbour, a junior
:20:34. > :20:39.World Champion. He had never run before, he said - I'm taller than
:20:39. > :20:43.him, I must be faster, I could be ale world champion. Two years later
:20:43. > :20:49.he was a world champion. You brought anything back that you could take to
:20:49. > :20:53.the Institute of Sport to say, here is something we aren't doing with
:20:53. > :20:57.potential long and middle distance runners that we could do? We are
:20:57. > :21:02.absolutely serious about supporting our athletes to be the very best.
:21:02. > :21:07.Things are on the up. The world championships taking place next week
:21:07. > :21:11.- Give me one thing you will apply from your trip? A clear focus on
:21:11. > :21:18.being the best. Involving the right people and knowing what to do when
:21:18. > :21:25.you encounter adversity. All right. Thank you very much. Now the front
:21:25. > :21:29.Thank you very much. Now the front page: the Scotsman lead on the
:21:29. > :21:38.tragedy incident, two dead in shooting at equestrian centre, the