By Douglas Walker
THE SCOTTISH Government today warned young Rangers fans not to miss their exams for the sake of going to the Uefa Cup final.
More than 28,000 pupils are registered to sit their Higher English paper on Thursday morning.
However, many junior ‘Gers face missing the crucial exam as they will still be in Manchester following Wednesday’s match with Zenit St Petersburg.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has also warned pupils that citing the game as an excuse for missing the paper is not an acceptable reason.
Thousands of pupils are also due to sit exams on Wednesday – including Higher Business Management and Standard Grade Craft and Design.
And the Scottish Government is urging young fans not to sacrifice their future for the sake of the game.
A spokeswoman said: “We hope that parents take a responsible attitude and realise that while this football game is an important one for fans, this exam is one of the most important dates in their childrens’ lives.
“There is no need for young people to travel to Manchester as Rangers recently announced that it plans to beam back the UEFA final to Ibrox and the match will also be shown live on television.”
The majority of Scottish universities have a ‘C’ or better entrance requirement for the Higher English qualification.
And the SQA says travelling to Manchester does not constitute a valid reason for missing the paper.
Mike Haggerty, SQA spokesman, said: “Exams and qualifications are very important for future life. We would therefore ask candidates and parents to carefully consider potential non-attendance.
“If pupils do not sit their exam, they will not receive any credit whatsoever for their work over the year.
“Without a proper explanation, Rangers not being one, there will simply be no result on exam certificates.”
Online Rangers supporters were last night split as to whether younger supporters should sit their exams or go to Manchester.
One fan on the FollowFollow message board, JamesyMFH, says exams should definitely take priority. He wrote: “There’s a lot more Rangers games to come after this one.
“You cannae go to them if you aint got a decent job to pay for it.”
However another fan, flootbon, urged supporters to go to the game stating: “You can sit the English exam anytime.
“It might be a long time before you can watch the ‘Gers in a European Final. Sit the exam next year.”
