Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron has said that ministers must commit to going ahead with national school exams later this year.

Mr Cameron raised his concerns after Cabinet Secretary for Education, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said on Sunday that a decision on whether exams will be cancelled may not be made until the end of March.

The Scottish Conservative MSP said: “It is very worrying that the Education Minister, Shirley-Anne Somerville, is still casting doubt over whether exams will go ahead.

“Local schoolchildren have endured nearly two years of disruption and we should be reassuring them that we are committed to a return to normality, and an end to exam chaos.

“Our priority should be to restore academic standards in Scotland’s once-proud education system and protect the interests and future prospects of our young people.”