FIRST, the good news. According to a new analysis of the figures on school leavers, the proportion of pupils going on to college or university is increasing faster in the most deprived areas in Scotland than it is in the least deprived, meaning that the attainment gap is narrowing. Closing the gap has always been near the top of the SNP’s stated list of priorities so the new figures will be seen as a most welcome development by the Scottish Government. Finally, it looks like it is making progress towards its goal.

However, no one should be in any doubt about the true position and the fact that the figures are no more than a tiny step towards the ultimate aim of equality. The education secretary John Swinney himself acknowledged this in his reaction to the figures. The new analysis showed progress, he said, but it also demonstrated the scale of the challenge.

The figures themselves tell much of the story. In 2012, 20.4 per cent of school leavers in the 20 per cent most deprived areas went to college or university from school, compared to 58.6 per cent from the 20 per cent least deprived. Last year, the figures had improved, the percentage of school leavers entering higher education from the most deprived areas rising to 24 per cent, and the percentage entering from the least deprived going up to 60.5 per cent.

What this means is some improvement is happening but that the gap is still huge – in fact, pupils from better-off backgrounds are two and a half times more likely to go to college or university than those from poorer environments. In other words, the recent improvement aside, there is still a chasm of inequality right at the heart of Scotland’s education system.

Mr Swinney says he is taking action to change this, including the welcome news that he will be implementing the recommendations of the Commission on Widening Access. This will mean, among other things, that a Commissioner for Fair Access will be able to take steps to force a university to widen access. In the wake of the report, all universities also agreed to accept poorer students with lower exam grades in a bid to boost the number of working class undergraduates.

These measures will help, although the fact that middle class children could be vulnerable to losing university places may, in the longer term, require greater investment to fund extra places. Action also needs to be taken in schools at an early stage, long before pupils are taking their Highers, and in this area the Scottish Government has looked short-termist – for example, it has recently watered down its scheme to twin schools that are experiencing difficulties with others that are punching above their weight.

Of course, the attainment gap is not just about education – at its core, it is caused by poverty – but in partnership with councils, charities, schools, colleges, universities, and parents – the Scottish Government must focus more than ever on one, clear target: to ensure that students from the 20 per cent most deprived areas make up 20 per cent of the people in higher education rather than the current 10 per cent. In other words, we must strive for an education system that truly reflects our communities from the richest to the poorest.