Scottish ministers criticised for slow progress in exam passes for poorer students

Attainment gap between pupils from wealthy and deprived areas only closes slightly, despite being SNP's core mission

Ministers in Scotland are facing intense criticism over the sluggish increase in exam passes by teenagers from deprived areas despite repeated promises to greatly improve performance.

Opposition parties and Scotland's largest teaching union said progress in closing the attainment gap - the difference between exam passes for pupils from the wealthiest areas with the most deprived - was too slow and too patchy.