Clare Buchanan
Local democracy service reporter

Image source, LDRS

Pupils from Queen Anne High School in Dunfermline, Fife, nervously gathered to find out their exam results earlier.

Lawrie, 16, was rewarded for his efforts with five As in his Higher exams. He plans to study maths with computer science at Heriot-Watt University after completing sixth year next year.

“I am incredibly happy,” he said. “There's nothing better, is there?

"I definitely thought I would get an A in maths and physics, but a lot of the exams were quite difficult this year so I thought it could go either way.”

Meanwhile Sarah, 18, achieved three As in Advanced Higher maths and music and National Five Mandarin, as well as a B in Advanced Higher physics.

She is off to China for a year to study Mandarin before starting a degree in mechanical engineering.

Despite a "stressful" wait, sixth year pupil Sophie, 17, was "very happy" with her results for Advanced Higher physics, Higher computing and music and National Five chemistry.

She said it was exactly what she needed to study sport science at university.

BBC Bitesize has put together lots of support pages for students receiving their results today.

• Everything you need to know for Scottish exams results day
• What are the Qualifications Scotland grade boundaries for 2026?
• What next if you're staying on at school?
• What next if you want to take a vocational route?
• How to talk to your parents or carers about your results

Rachel Bell
BBC Scotland reporter

Student reactions are coming to us from across Scotland.

Andrii Lutsyk has spent the last year studying an HNC in social sciences with criminology at North East Scotland College.

He achieved an A in his final HNC grade and now plans to study history at the University of Edinburgh after the summer.

"I am quite surprised with my grade," the 18-year-old says.

"I am very happy and very proud of myself and everyone who has been helping me through this long journey."

Andrii arrived in Aberdeen in 2022 as a Ukrainian refugee and hopes to return one day.

"The ideal for me would be to go back to Ukraine and use the experience I gained here to help and rebuild the society and country from the war," he says.

"It's the motivation for me to study and choose the social sciences course."

The number of pupils achieving an A, B or C grade at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher has increased again.

The National 5 qualifications figure rose from 78.4% in 2025 to 79.2% this year.

The rate for Higher increased from 75.9% to 76.7%, and the rate for Advanced Higher rose from 76.7% to 77.6%.

Scotland's Education Secretary Màiri McAllan has congratulated the record number of successful university applicants on "incredibly positive results".

“It is particularly encouraging to see even more students from deprived areas going on to university," she added.

"Scotland has some of the top-ranking universities in the world and our determination to widen access to Higher Education is giving thousands of young people from more deprived areas the opportunity to further their studies."

She said it was "just one route to a positive future" and the government wanted to create a "balanced and inclusive system" with a range of opportunities, like college and apprenticeships.

Selena Jackson
BBC Scotland reporter

Chief qualifications and examinations officer Donna Stewart says today's results are a "testament to learners' hard work and commitment".

More than 148,000 people in Scotland are receiving their results today, including those who sat exams as well as vocational courses such as progression awards, national certificates and Skills for Work.

"The rise in overall attainment at all three National Qualification levels and the increasing attainment in vocational and technical qualifications will rightly be welcomed in classrooms and staffrooms across Scotland," Stewart adds.

“The diversity of qualifications being achieved today is evidence of the appetite for skills-based, practical qualifications along with traditional subjects.”

Katy McCloskey
Senior producer, Scotland education

A record number of young Scots have been accepted into university or college, according to the admissions service.

Figures released today by Ucas show that 17,920 17 and 18-year-olds have gained a place, up from 17,350 last year.

There has also been an increase in the number of young people from the most deprived areas going to university or college – over 130 more on last year, at 2,090.

Overall, about 95% of pupils obtained their first choice at university, the admissions service says, and the total number of Scots accepted to university has also risen by 520.

The figure now stands at 32,370.

The Scottish Conservatives have congratulated pupils for their hard work over the last year, as well as teachers for their dedication.

But the party's West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie said the Scottish government was "continuing to fail a generation of our country's pupils".

“Plummeting teacher numbers and spiralling levels of school violence have made this another very difficult year for pupils across Scotland," he said.

“This has created a challenging environment for pupils to get the grades they hoped for, which is why they deserve a huge amount of credit for achieving great results."

He added: “However, it’s clear some pupils are still facing a postcode lottery when it comes to educational achievement. The reality is every child should have the same educational opportunities, regardless of their background or where they live."

Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, Skills Development Scotland

Everyone remembers waiting for their own exam results - and the new education secretary has admitted that today has made her "relive" the nerves of high school all over again.

Màiri McAllan was only appointed to her job in May following the Holyrood election.

In just three months, she's had to study hard to get to grips with her new, sprawling subject.

McAllan praised all the learners as she supported the Results Helpline.

And she highlighted that pass rates for National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers have all increased again.

However, the Advanced Higher rate has still not returned to pre-Covid levels.

The pandemic-era generation is slowly graduating through the education system.

It will still be years before all children affected by Covid restrictions have finished school and their learning experience will be shaped by that disruption even at university level eventually.

It's a significant burden of responsibility for those who design and deliver the education experience.

Skills Development Scotland is operating an advice line on 0808 100 8000. It will be open until 20:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 09:00 to 17:00 on Thursday and Friday.

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish Greens have called for the "outdated" exams system to be scrapped and replaced with continuous assessment.

The party's education spokeswoman Laura Moodie wrote to the Scottish government urging it to act on a 2023 report which recommended replacing most end-of-year exams with continuous assessment.

In 2024, the Scottish government said it only accepted some proposals from the Hayward review, and exams would still play a part in most courses.

Moodie congratulated pupils, teachers, and lecturers across Scotland on reaching results day.

However, she said: "For too many young people, everything comes down to a handful of high-stakes exams.

"That's unfair to students dealing with illness, difficult circumstances at home, or other challenges beyond their control. We need an education system that recognises achievement throughout the year, not just on exam day."

For the Higher exams, the number of pupils getting an A was lower than at Nat 5.

On average, 30.9% got an A at Higher whereas for National 5s it was 40.3%.

The number of students getting an A in English at Higher was below the average (25.8%) whereas Mathematics was higher (37.6%).

The highest number of students getting an A at Higher include Cantonese (100%), Simplified Mandarin (86.9%), Italian (69.9%) and Childcare and Development (62.1%).

The lowest A pass rates at Higher included Application of Mathematics (16.4%), Environmental Science (16.2%), Photography (16%), Media (17.3%), Art and Design (17.6%), Care (17.9%) and Design and Manufacture (16.1%)

Across all National 5 exams, taken by the majority of students at age 15 or 16, just over 40% of students got an A grade.

English was the most-taken exam with 20,825 students (40.7%) getting an A - and Mathematics had a similar level.

The rate at which students got the top grade varied massively between subjects.

For instance, all 15 students who took Cantonese got an A whereas for Environmental Science it was fewer than one in 10 (8.2%).

Fashion and Textile Technology (27%), Music Technology (28.7%), Practical Cake Craft (22.5%) and Practical Cookery (29.9%) all had A-grade rates well below average.

Whereas Economics (72.6%), Simplified Mandarin (74.5%) and Spanish (58.8%) had A passes well above the average.

Katie says she is "still in shock" after receiving her exams results this morning.

Reading them out to her mum, she reveals she got AAABB in maths, modern studies, biology, chemistry and English, respectively.

The pupils adds she thought she was going to fail English and chemistry but passing means she does not need to resit them again next year.

More on the news that a record number of vocational and technical qualifications have been awarded.

A total of 120,485 were achieved at levels 1-6, which is an increase of 9.1% compared to 2025.

As students across Scotland woke up to their exam results, 18-year-old Monica received hers while on holiday in Italy.

Monica, from Aberfeldy, got three As and is now set to go to King's College London to study dentistry.

"It's a dream come true," she says as she plans to celebrate with a pizza and some sightseeing.

Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Scotland's education secretary has welcomed this year's exam results, which shows pass rates for National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers have all increased again.

However, the Advanced Higher pass rate has still not returned to pre-Covid levels.

Màiri McAllan congratulated all learners who are receiving their results, saying she welcomed a narrowing of the poverty-related attainment gap compared with last year and also pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

A record number of vocational and technical qualifications have also been given out to learners this year.

Pass rates for National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers have all increased this year, including a record number of National 5 passes.

The National 5 pass rate was 79.2%, up by 0.8 percentage points, Highers was 76.7%, up 0.8 points, and Advanced Highers was 77.6%, up 0.9 points.

Katy McCloskey
Senior producer, Scotland education

We should receive data on the exam results shortly.

Last year, the percentage of those passing at A to C level for both National five and Higher exams was up slightly on pre-pandemic levels, although the pass rate for Advanced Highers was down compared to 2019.

Last year was the first "normal" exam year after Covid. Will these trends continue?

The results will be a key test for Qualifications Scotland, which came into being in February.

Its predecessor, the SQA, was scrapped due to a series of controversies.

Experts pointed to a growing disconnect between the organisation and teachers.

But new bosses say they hope to "win back trust" from both teachers and learners.

Will that trust be restored today?

Katie Hunter
BBC Scotland reporter

It feels like happiness is all around at All Saints' Secondary School in Glasgow as pupils react to exam results.

Michael, who got BCC in his three Highers, says he put in a lot of hard work and it feels "absolutely brilliant" to have it pay off.

He now plans to go to college to study HVAC, plumbing and electrical installation.

Before anyone sits an exam, their school, college or training centre submits estimated grades for every candidate to Qualifications Scotland.

If you don't think your grade is correct, you should first talk to your school or college.

It can contact the exam board on your behalf and ask for your marks to be reviewed. You can also submit your own appeal, external.

Appeals will be subject to a marking review - a check that marks have been added up and submitted correctly and a check that the marking meets the national standard.

An appeal can be prioritised if you have a conditional place at university or college, or are in training or employment that depends on your grade.

The deadline for individuals to submit a priority appeal is 11 August, or 25 August for other appeals. If the appeal is being lodged by your school or college, the deadlines are 20 August for priority cases and 28 August for others.