HIGHLY able learners are not being disadvantaged in reaching their full potential in Borders schools.

That was the message delivered by the region’s senior educationalists to Scottish Borders Council’s watchdog scrutiny committee.

The hearing had been requested by scrutiny chairman Cllr Gavin Logan, who, at a full council meeting earlier this year, expressed concern that secondary students were being restricted in the number of National examinations (N5s) – which replaced O-Grades two years ago – they could sit.

He claimed that some gifted S4 children in Edinburgh were able to achieve up to nine such qualifications, whereas this was restricted to six in the region’s nine high schools.

At the scrutiny hearing, Michelle Strong, chief officer education, said that “up to six or seven National exams” could be taken in one year, whereas under the previous system it had been up to eight O-Grades over two years.

And, she stressed that colleges and universities were not looking for eight or nine National qualifications, but rather at Highers and Advanced Highers, while work experience was also taken into account with further and higher educational placements.

“It is also important to achieve a balance and allow a learner’s other interests, such as music and sport, to be pursued,” she added.

Jacqueline Wilson, head teacher at 400-pupil Kingsland Primary in Peebles, told councillors it was the job of class teachers to assess and develop the wide range of abilities in the school.

She said activities were in place for her highly able learners, including participation in master classes for those identified with particular skills, opportunities to work in different classes, and access to support from the receiving high school.

She cited further examples of Kingsland pupils engaging in partnership with local clubs – including the Tweeddale Astronomy Club – and taking part in national and international competitions in which some pupils had gone on to represent Scotland.

John Clark, head of Berwickshire High School, in Duns, stressed the role of teachers in recognising and encouraging able pupils not just in academic subjects but also in music and sport.

“We also need to acknowledge the importance of developing resilience among highly able learners who have perhaps experienced no or few hurdles in their lives,” said Mr Clark.

“Through a process of differentiation, teachers ensure pupils within a group are given work appropriate to their individual level and are not all given the same work.

“While there is value in having children grouped together according to ability, a balance needs to be struck, as having more highly able pupils in a group can help those who are less able.”

In terms of how highly able children can receive enhanced and augmented provision in the Borders, Mr Clark recalled that, during his time as head of maths at Earlston High, he taught a pupil called Kirsty Wan.

She had arrived in the Borders with her family from China as a 10-year-old and attended Langlee Primary School, where her prodigious maths ability was immediately recognised.

She went up to Earlston High a year early and, by the time she was 15 she had achieved a 100 per cent mark in Advanced Higher Mathematics at 15, earning a place at Cambridge University, where she is now a Research Fellow.

“For a teacher, Kirsty could be described as being a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ pupil, but our aim is to give every child every opportunity to succeed,” said Mr Clark.