I am proud to be part of the Scottish Conservative’s education team, holding the SNP government to account.

I am also proud of the way our pupils, staff and parents have went above and beyond during the pandemic across the West Scotland region.

In Scotland, we also used to have an education system that we used to be able to promote and be proud of. It was a real crown jewel in this country’s reputation over the world.

However, during 14 years of the SNP being in office, standards are nowhere near where they used to be, and Scotland continues to slide down international league tables- the ones the SNP are still happy for us to be part of, anyway.

Under the SNP, Scotland has recorded its worst-ever performance in maths and science, in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), ranking 25th and 24th respectively.

Nicola Sturgeon herself said in 2015 that education would be her top priority and asked to be judged on her education record. It is one that continues to let down young people in the communities I represent.

Despite the First Minister vowing to close the attainment gap, that aim is further away than ever. Our most deprived communities are being failed by the SNP.

Take Milngavie and Clydebank, for example, two towns only minutes away but worlds apart: one where schools rank 14th out of 340 schools, and one where schools rank 230th. One where 68 per cent of pupils leave with five Highers, one where only 33 per cent leave with five Highers.

That should be a source of shame for the SNP education secretary. The warm words from her and her predecessors are simply not cutting it, and neither is simply trying to fling more money at the problem, especially when that money is now shockingly going to be diverted away from Scotland’s most deprived areas.

Our schools deserve better. They have suffered disruption over the last 20 months like no other time in living memory through closures, many staple events such as nursery graduations, sport days and nativities not able to take place.

Alongside my colleagues, I will be continuing to hold SNP government ministers to account over their education record and ensure our teachers and pupils always feel fully supported.

If the SNP truly make education their top priority, rather than obsessing over breaking up the UK, then maybe, just maybe Scotland’s education system can be the envy of the world once again.