“I know we are not calling them exams but pupils will treat each assessment as such.” Mr Bruce was speaking as the council was presented with a report on the Covid-19 response over the last year across all services. The SQA, Scotland’s exam body, cancelled its formal exams after Deputy First Minister John Swinney took the decision not to go ahead with them in December. The report told councillors: “Following the cancellation of SQA examinations for sessions 2022/21, all local authorities have been required to put in place an Alternative Certification Model that ensures that a range of evidence about pupil achievement is gathered prior to the awarding of final grades by the SQA.