While Scotland’s international education rankings continue to crater, our government appears more interested in playing with numbers than fixing our schools.

The latest Scottish government figures reveal a shocking reality: 289 of our schools are now officially rated as being in “poor” or “bad” suitability. That is 275 schools trapped in “poor” condition – an increase of 23 in just one year – and 14 rated "bad." Meanwhile, the number of schools deemed merely “satisfactory” has dropped by 56 to 1,135 (your report, 3 October)

Instead of treating this as an absolute emergency, Education Secretary Mairi McAllan chose to spin the narrative. She pointed out that the highest number of pupils since records began are attending schools in good or satisfactory condition. It is not clear whether she was boasting or complaining.

What is clear is that our children are paying the price for this complacency. Scotland’s latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results show that we have officially fallen behind England in reading, maths, and science.

We cannot expect first-class results from a second-class infrastructure. If the Scottish government spends more time drafting press releases to hide these failures than it does investing in classrooms, our downward slide on the global stage will only continue. Parents, teachers, and pupils deserve honesty and urgent action – not political spin.

This situation cannot be allowed to fester. I urge every reader in the strongest possible terms to email Education Secretary Mairi McAllan demanding immediate action.

Doug Clark, Currie, Edinburgh

EU be consistent

This is a Pandora's box. I don't see how you can credibly hold this position while saying that a Scottish Independence referendum is off-limits. If you accept the results of one referendum, you need to accept the results of all referenda, otherwise your position is compromised.

I don't want an independence referendum, and for that reason, we have to make the best of the decision the UK made to leave the EU, not spend time scratching old wounds.

Andrew Anderson, Forfar, Angus

Undemocratic

Gerald Edwards (Letters, 2 October) argues that Andy Burnham and John Swinney are “promising far more than they can deliver”. He should know all politicians over promise and underdeliver. Take Liz Truss on the economy and Boris Johnson on Brexit, for example.

Most economists and many senior Tories agree that the triple lock has to go. Using proceeds to help fund social care seems sensible given the state of our NHS, yet Mr Edwards seems worried about the erosion of pensions when they will still be linked to long term earnings and annual inflation, rising at least 2.5 per cent.

A return to first-past-the-post in Scotland, as Mr Edwards argues, would have meant the SNP winning 78 per cent of seats with 38 per cent of the vote at Holyrood. In the 2024 UK election Labour won 63 per cent of seats with 34 per cent of the vote. Facts prove first-past-the-post is undemocratic so electoral reform, as Burnham argues, is necessary.

As for John Swinney having “galvanised Mr Burnham to save the union”, I am all for it, and as for putting their efforts into “saving themselves”, as Mr Edwards suggests, I would rather they served us.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Utter disgrace

Just a quick word on Ken Currie’s letter (3 October) stating that there “are there no safeguards against minister telling outright lies”.

It should come as no surprise that the so-called leaders of our country lie with impunity, When there was a bill passed recently to prevent people in authority from lying to the public, of course the immediate exception from this law saw MPs, Lords and Judges – all exempt.

These are the people who the law should have been directed at in the first place.

Once again the ruling class holds itself above everyone else, utter disgrace.

Andrew Thorpe, Dunfermline, Fife

Keep the intrigue

It has to be said that currently Scotland is most emphatically over-governed.

The formation of a Scottish Executive in 1999, following the passage of the Scotland Act 1998 was ill-conceived. It has led to turmoil politically, with the SNP constantly attempting to break up the 300+ year old UK.

Time has proved that the radical stance taken by then SNP leader Alex Salmond, and then, following his resignation in a fit of pique, by successor Nicola Sturgeon, has all been in vain. For myriad reasons, Scotland cannot rationally stand alone politically or economically.

The reasons are obvious to any thinking person:

Our Economy is reliant on massive subsidisation from the Westminster Exchequer;

From the point of view of Defence, it could not stand alone. The Armed Forces of the UK, including nuclear weaponry, cannot be divided up to suit political change;

Take into full account the UK's much-diminished role in world politics, ambassadorial representation and economic strength – what place has this wee northerly part of the UK in an ever-changing world?

It is high time the political scene in Scotland returned from the extremism of the SNP to the less radical concepts of Conservatism, Socialism and Liberalism. Scottish Nationalism might seem ideal in a perfect world, but sadly our planet Earth is fraught with the intrigue of power and politics.

Far better that the UK continues in the form which has seen it cope with all manner of intrigue – political and economic, for over 300 years.

Robert I G Scott, Northfield, Ceres, Fife

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