The difference in the “positive destinations” of pupils from the least and most deprived areas nine months after leaving school has fallen from 11.2 percentage points in 2015-16 to 8.8 in 2016-17. However, figures show 43 per cent of last year’s leavers from the most-deprived areas attained one or more Highers, compared with 80.6 per cent from the least-deprived areas.

The impact of social media will be “catastrophic” for many teachers unless more is done to stop “bullying” by parents who are monitoring schools using new technology, the EIS teaching union has warned. It is calling for more support for staff amid fears that groups of parents are targeting teachers and bombarding schools with petty complaints.

Parents are more to blame than schools for pressurising pupils to go to university, the Scottish Guidance Association (SGA) has said. The body’s claims came in response to a survey of nearly 900 young people, which found that many pupils who did not plan to go to university felt sidelined by schools. The SGA said in a submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee that teachers were taking an “individualised approach”, but “pressure from parents” was “often a concern”.

Teachers’ social media skills are to be scrutinised after a popular online education network was blocked following the posting of offensive material. Access to Yammer has been removed after recent revelations that the material, including references to the sale of drugs, could be read by pupils. First minister Nicola Sturgeon said that she would consider whether more could be done to ensure those working with young people gave “appropriate advice”.