内容摘要：He shouted at the pair that their target was not there and the atmosphere immediately changed, Mr Lane said, with the two men saying the couple's son owed "a lot of people a lot of money" but the parents would not be harmed.

He shouted at the pair that their target was not there and the atmosphere immediately changed, Mr Lane said, with the two men saying the couple's son owed "a lot of people a lot of money" but the parents would not be harmed.

The review warned this too often results in teaching to the test rather than offering a broad understanding of the subjects.Gilruth told MSPs she agreed with the Hayward report's recommendation that there should be less reliance on "high stakes final exams" but last year the Scottish government rejected the proposals.

Instead, just a small number of practical subjects such as woodworking and cakemaking will drop exams next year and the rest will continue as they were.Behind the scenes work is under way on the Curriculum Reform Cycle – with subjects including maths and English already under review.To some this is considered a back door way of transforming the landmark Curriculum for Excellence without actually admitting it did not achieve what was intended.

Others have applauded the work under way.In addition to the exams being sat over the next month, many other pupils will be completing National 1 to National 4 qualifications as well as other courses that are continually assessed throughout the year.

In total, more than 147,000 candidates are expected to get their results on Tuesday 5 August.

There has been controversy over the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) grading of exams in recent years, especially during the pandemic.The Conservatives will make up the bulk of that number, with 17 of the 41 Conservatives who hold a seat going into the election stepping down – including four of the nine who make up the leader's cabinet.

Among them is Peter Butlin, the deputy leader who has overseen the council's finances; and Margaret Bell, the portfolio holder for adult social care and health. These are two areas which present the biggest challenges to the council, according to Conservative Izzi Seccombe, who has led the council for almost 12 years.She said: "I am very keen, particularly, that we prevent people coming into need and that we try and help them to stay independent as long as possible.

"But the second important part is that we help to grow our economy. That we make sure we are an attractive place to do business."Recent results in the General Election, as well as the district and boroughs, could perhaps provide an insight into why some Conservatives have decided to call it a day.