EDUCATION Secretary John Swinney has announced that NQ and Higher exams in Scotland will not be going ahead this year for the first time in 132 years.

Alternative certification will be put in place that takes into account coursework and teacher estimates.

He said the “unprecedented” move was a sign of the “gravity” of the situation the country was facing.

He told MSPs at Holyrood: “In all of our history, Scotland has never cancelled the exams. Since 1888 they have been held every May or June, without fail.

“In the midst of two world wars the exams went ahead. It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge we now face that I must today announce the exams will not go ahead this year.”

In a later statement, Swinney said: “My priorities are to ensure the health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff, and to maintain teaching and learning wherever this is possible, guided by the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and public health experts.

“Teaching, learning and support will continue – albeit in different ways for different groups of children. For the majority, this will be through distance learning and online learning, with different forms of on-going contact with teachers rather than in-school, face-to-face. Teachers and other staff who are well will continue to be working.

“For vulnerable children and those who have parents or carers employed as key workers, local authorities are developing approaches to support them. We will not cut adrift vulnerable young people who often rely on school life for hot meals or for a safe, nurturing and supportive environment.

“Parents are not expected to be a teacher or to recreate the school day - your school will be giving you some resources and suggestions as your first port of call.

“It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge we now face that the exams will not go ahead this year. With the support of the wider education system, a credible certification model can be put in place in the that can command confidence in the absence of the exam diet – to ensure that young people in our schools and colleges who through no fault of their own are unable to sit exams, are not disadvantaged.”

He also stated that nursery and childcare services would remain open for the children of key frontline workers and the vulnerable.