Dyslexic pupil from Edinburgh achieves five As in his Highers

A dyslexic Royal High student is celebrating an incredible achievement of getting five grade As in his Higher exams.

Callum was 'just trying to do his best' in his exams

Callum Glasgow, 16, has struggled with reading and writing due to his condition but has excelled in his exams where he studied Maths, Accounting, Computing, Geography and Physics.

“It’s been quite a challenging year because Highers have more reading and writing than other years,” Callum said, “I didn’t expect to get the results I just tried to do my best.”

He added: “Geography was probably the hardest one because that was the most written.

“I had a scribe and some extra time in exams which helped.”

Callum opted to receive the text message on Tuesday morning with his results which revealed his top grades.

Pauline Walker, Headteacher at Royal High, said: “You can’t take away the fact that exam results are stressful, what we do as a school is to try and remove any barriers that prevent someone from achieving their full potential.

“At our school all of our work is online and accessible through a one-to-one iPad project and the iPads have accessibility modes. They have made sure that young people can remove that barrier all together and get on with learning.

Royal High also has a dyslexia champion in the school, meaning an older child with the condition pairs up with a younger child and offers them mentorship and guidance where they can discuss any issues they feel like they are facing.

Cathy Magee, Chief Executive of Dyslexia Scotland, said: “Our congratulations go to Callum on his fantastic Higher exam results.

“For the one in ten pupils with dyslexia, the importance of early identification and the right support at the right time should not be underestimated for them to flourish and reach their full potential as Callum has clearly done.

“Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence. Dyslexic people may find it difficult to learn to read, write and spell but there are also associated difficulties such as processing, short-term and working memory, following instructions and organisational skills, which can also affect someone’s ability to learn.

Pauline added: “Exam results are not a game changer, it’s about lifelong learning, and there are lots of pathways into university, foundation courses and college. Kids are put under so much pressure on now, our job is to be there to offer support and remove barriers to learning they may be facing.”