At this stage it looks like we may see a concentration of thundery downpours across the Northern Isles, but these should ease later.”Authorities in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders are on flood alert as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) warned of difficult driving conditions.While the warning from Monday lunchtime covers southern, central and northern parts of the Scotland, it does not extend further than Inverness or to the east coast.However, Met Office warnings for Tuesday and Wednesday extend to the whole country.Visitors leave mess at beauty spot in the Scottish Borders, with locals at the end of their tether.Visitors have been turning up in numbers to St Mary’s Loch, a short drive from Selkirk, and have neighbours at the end of their tether as they pitch their tents and party until 5am some nights.Police have repeatedly been called to problem sites near the loch, with people holidaying there since the beginning of July.Local business owners have complained of scenes more reminiscent of a music festival and claim they are losing money because of the mayhem.Alistair Moody, 48, owns the Tibbie Shiells Inn and made the decision to cancel all bookings at holiday lets and a campsite he owns, losing thousands of pounds due to the noise.He said: “People have been camping here since two weeks before the lockdown was lifted.“I have had people swinging on the gate and acting like they are in Magaluf.“We had our first guests stay who left because they said they couldn’t sleep due to all the noise at 5am.“I had to help one man who was so drunk he was lying in the middle of the road, while all his friends who were also drunk got into their cars and drove off.“People are coming from all over Britain here, with no social distancing, it is a public health disaster, hundreds of bikers came up from England the other week.“They are using the land as a toilet and been quite aggressive when spoken to about their actions… We are trying to run a business, we should have been able to open on July 15 and we can’t because of this.“People round here have called police numerous times but the problem has been non-stop.“It’s a beautiful part of the world but we have no idea when this will end, we haven’t left our house unattended for three months because we will come back and find people parked all over our land or picnicking.”He added: “People are camping and using shared facilities, they are not paying but the guidance is clear. “The worst of the storms on Monday night will be across north Wales and northern England, where very large hail, flooding and gusty winds are possible. The 50 th anniversary of the Kingston Bridge is being celebrated with a bid to give the iconic structure listed as a structure of historic and architectural interest.. “This provided all the motivation we needed, and regardless of the satisfaction completing the challenge gave us, our aim has always been to fund the experience this charity offers for one struggling veteran.”The Children's Commissioner said pupils from deprived areas have been downgraded based on schools' historic performance.Sturgeon and Swinney told to 'get exam results chaos fixed or go'Swinney to set out next steps after 'exam results train wreck'Pupils gather to protest downgrading of exam resultsWith no exams sat this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) applied a methodology that saw grades estimated by teachers downgraded.Higher pass rates for pupils in the most deprived data zones were reduced by 15.2% in comparison with 6.9% for pupils from the most affluent backgrounds.The Commissioner’s office said children from more deprived areas have been downgraded based on the historic performance of their school rather than their performance.And it called on education secretary John Swinney to direct the SQA to “achieve a just outcome for all young people”.In a letter to the SQA and the Scottish Government, the CYPCS lays out a series of steps to make the appeal process for pupils fairer.It includes allowing young people to disagree with the grade estimated by their school, and grades being awarded based solely on the evidence presented and not “statistical modelling or moderation”.‘It appears that too many young people have not received the results they deserve and they are due an apology as well as redress.’“If this results in significantly higher pass marks compared to previous years, no further adjustment will be made to grades to seek to bring them into line with those historic statistics,” the CYPCS argues.The letter also calls on the government and SQA to apologise to young people.Nick Hobbs, CYPCS head of advice and investigations, criticised the SQA’s “refusal to discuss its proposed methodology in advance” and said young people are now “experiencing significant anxiety and distress”.He added: “This situation has placed process before people, and in endeavouring to protect the system has delivered results to individual students that are simply unfair.“It appears that too many young people have not received the results they deserve and they are due an apology as well as redress.“Children from more deprived areas report being downgraded, not based on an assessment of their own abilities and potential but on the historic performance of the school they attend.“The unfairness of this approach is obvious and it should make the government scrutinise in much more detail the way in which we assess young people’s performance and potential.”Swinney said he had “heard the anger of students who feel their hard work has been taken away” and said he was “determined to address it”.“These are unprecedented times and as we have said throughout this pandemic, we will not get everything right first time,” he said.“Every student deserves a grade that reflects the work they have done, and that is what I want to achieve.“I have been engaged in detailed discussions over the way forward and I know that we need to act and act quickly to give certainty to our young people.”Sturgeon and Swinney told to 'get exam results chaos fixed or go'Swinney to set out next steps after 'exam results train wreck'Pupils gather to protest downgrading of exam resultsAlmost half of those questioned do not think it will be safe for pupils to be back in the classroom, with 42% uncertain.Swinney: Anxiety understandable but schools will be safeBack to school: When does your child return to the classroom?The NASUWT union questioned 780 teachers ahead of schools reopening this week.The survey found teachers are anxious about going back to work and have not been given enough information or time to prepare.A total of 45% of those questioned do not think it will be safe for pupils to return, with 42% uncertain.The majority (67%) do not feel prepared to go back to their school or college and the vast majority (87%) feel anxious about returning when it is reopened to all pupils.More than 70% had not been given assurances by their schools that PPE would be provided.One teacher told the union: “I feel it’s very much just get in there and get on with it.
At this stage it looks like we may see a concentration of thundery downpours across the Northern Isles, but these should ease later.”Authorities in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders are on flood alert as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) warned of difficult driving conditions.While the warning from Monday lunchtime covers southern, central and northern parts of the Scotland, it does not extend further than Inverness or to the east coast.However, Met Office warnings for Tuesday and Wednesday extend to the whole country.Visitors leave mess at beauty spot in the Scottish Borders, with locals at the end of their tether.Visitors have been turning up in numbers to St Mary’s Loch, a short drive from Selkirk, and have neighbours at the end of their tether as they pitch their tents and party until 5am some nights.Police have repeatedly been called to problem sites near the loch, with people holidaying there since the beginning of July.Local business owners have complained of scenes more reminiscent of a music festival and claim they are losing money because of the mayhem.Alistair Moody, 48, owns the Tibbie Shiells Inn and made the decision to cancel all bookings at holiday lets and a campsite he owns, losing thousands of pounds due to the noise.He said: “People have been camping here since two weeks before the lockdown was lifted.“I have had people swinging on the gate and acting like they are in Magaluf.“We had our first guests stay who left because they said they couldn’t sleep due to all the noise at 5am.“I had to help one man who was so drunk he was lying in the middle of the road, while all his friends who were also drunk got into their cars and drove off.“People are coming from all over Britain here, with no social distancing, it is a public health disaster, hundreds of bikers came up from England the other week.“They are using the land as a toilet and been quite aggressive when spoken to about their actions… We are trying to run a business, we should have been able to open on July 15 and we can’t because of this.“People round here have called police numerous times but the problem has been non-stop.“It’s a beautiful part of the world but we have no idea when this will end, we haven’t left our house unattended for three months because we will come back and find people parked all over our land or picnicking.”He added: “People are camping and using shared facilities, they are not paying but the guidance is clear. “The worst of the storms on Monday night will be across north Wales and northern England, where very large hail, flooding and gusty winds are possible. The 50 th anniversary of the Kingston Bridge is being celebrated with a bid to give the iconic structure listed as a structure of historic and architectural interest.. “This provided all the motivation we needed, and regardless of the satisfaction completing the challenge gave us, our aim has always been to fund the experience this charity offers for one struggling veteran.”The Children's Commissioner said pupils from deprived areas have been downgraded based on schools' historic performance.Sturgeon and Swinney told to 'get exam results chaos fixed or go'Swinney to set out next steps after 'exam results train wreck'Pupils gather to protest downgrading of exam resultsWith no exams sat this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) applied a methodology that saw grades estimated by teachers downgraded.Higher pass rates for pupils in the most deprived data zones were reduced by 15.2% in comparison with 6.9% for pupils from the most affluent backgrounds.The Commissioner’s office said children from more deprived areas have been downgraded based on the historic performance of their school rather than their performance.And it called on education secretary John Swinney to direct the SQA to “achieve a just outcome for all young people”.In a letter to the SQA and the Scottish Government, the CYPCS lays out a series of steps to make the appeal process for pupils fairer.It includes allowing young people to disagree with the grade estimated by their school, and grades being awarded based solely on the evidence presented and not “statistical modelling or moderation”.‘It appears that too many young people have not received the results they deserve and they are due an apology as well as redress.’“If this results in significantly higher pass marks compared to previous years, no further adjustment will be made to grades to seek to bring them into line with those historic statistics,” the CYPCS argues.The letter also calls on the government and SQA to apologise to young people.Nick Hobbs, CYPCS head of advice and investigations, criticised the SQA’s “refusal to discuss its proposed methodology in advance” and said young people are now “experiencing significant anxiety and distress”.He added: “This situation has placed process before people, and in endeavouring to protect the system has delivered results to individual students that are simply unfair.“It appears that too many young people have not received the results they deserve and they are due an apology as well as redress.“Children from more deprived areas report being downgraded, not based on an assessment of their own abilities and potential but on the historic performance of the school they attend.“The unfairness of this approach is obvious and it should make the government scrutinise in much more detail the way in which we assess young people’s performance and potential.”Swinney said he had “heard the anger of students who feel their hard work has been taken away” and said he was “determined to address it”.“These are unprecedented times and as we have said throughout this pandemic, we will not get everything right first time,” he said.“Every student deserves a grade that reflects the work they have done, and that is what I want to achieve.“I have been engaged in detailed discussions over the way forward and I know that we need to act and act quickly to give certainty to our young people.”Sturgeon and Swinney told to 'get exam results chaos fixed or go'Swinney to set out next steps after 'exam results train wreck'Pupils gather to protest downgrading of exam resultsAlmost half of those questioned do not think it will be safe for pupils to be back in the classroom, with 42% uncertain.Swinney: Anxiety understandable but schools will be safeBack to school: When does your child return to the classroom?The NASUWT union questioned 780 teachers ahead of schools reopening this week.The survey found teachers are anxious about going back to work and have not been given enough information or time to prepare.A total of 45% of those questioned do not think it will be safe for pupils to return, with 42% uncertain.The majority (67%) do not feel prepared to go back to their school or college and the vast majority (87%) feel anxious about returning when it is reopened to all pupils.More than 70% had not been given assurances by their schools that PPE would be provided.One teacher told the union: “I feel it’s very much just get in there and get on with it.