Students across Scotland receive their 2026 exam grades

Around 148,000 students across Scotland are receiving their results for National, Higher and Advanced Higher exams on Tuesday.

Certificates will arrive by first-class post while those with a MySQA account will receive their results by text and email.

Qualifications Scotland is expected to release results from as early as 8am, having officially replaced the Scottish Qualifications Authority in February 2026.

More than 800,000 separate exam scripts will be marked by 7,590 markers, before over 148,700 students receive their results.

Staff at a dedicated helpline are also gearing up for calls from Scotland’s students after they receive their results.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has set up a special results helpline, with careers advisers on hand to provide support and assistance.

The results helpline can be contacted on 0808 100 8000 and will be open 8am to 8pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 9am to 5pm on Thursday and Friday.

Courtney McLaughlin called the SDS Results Helpline in August 2024 to get advice about her SQA results.

The former Kilmarnock Academy pupil called the Helpline after receiving the results from her fourth-year exams, which were not what she had hoped for.  

Courtney, now 18, didn’t get the National 5 grades she had hoped for in English and History and thought it was a major setback in her career plans.

She said: “I was so upset when I opened my results that I started crying and called the Results Helpline for help.  After our conversation on the phone, the adviser Mellisa got back in contact with me and reassured me my paths of being a physical education teacher were just going to be on a different road”.

The teenager is now about to embark on a Sports Coaching course at City of Glasgow College.

She added: “I have now been given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do Camp America, and so far it’s one of the most extraordinary things I have done.

“If you’re ever in doubt, just make the call – more opportunities await ahead”.

Education Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “Results Day is about celebrating the hard work and achievements of every young person receiving their results, and the teachers, school staff, parents and carers who have supported them along the way.

“It can also be an anxious and uncertain time, but whatever your results, there is support available and a wide range of options ahead. Whether your path is staying on at school, moving into college or university, starting an apprenticeship or other training, or entering employment, there are people there to help from the minute you get your results – you are not alone.

“The SDS results helpline is such an important service, alongside wider support through your school, Qualifications Scotland’s Learner Support Hub, and through Parent Club – the Scottish Government’s information hub offering advice and support for parents and carers.”

The SDS Results Helpline has been going for 34 years and has helped tens of thousands of young Scots. SDS advisers consistently say their advice to anyone who is unsure is to give the helpline a call to connect with and speak things through with a careers adviser. They can help them look both at their immediate questions and the wider context and environment around them, so they can make well-thought-through and informed choices about their next steps.

Dave McCallum, head of Career Information, Advice and Guidance Operations at SDS said: “Our message for young people and their parents and carers as their results arrive is not to panic. Everything might seem overwhelming right now but remember that this is just one step on their journey.

“Our experienced advisers are here to provide expert support and guidance, offering information on a wide range of options and opportunities. They are also trained to help young people recognise that they are more than their exam results, giving them the confidence to see their strengths and skills beyond qualifications.”