Scottish Nationals and Highers results day: When is it - and what to expect on the day

• SQA results day is now just days away for thousands of students
• All of them should get their results in the post on the day - while some will also get them digitally
• The awarding body runs a few helpful extras, including an advice line and a free appeals service
• Students hoping to head off to university next will also need to be checking in with UCAS on the day

Scotland’s upcoming results day will be a time of celebration for many of the country’s students – where they can finally reap the rewards of their hard work.

This year’s secondary school exam season ran from April 25 to May 30, and to some candidates, the months-long wait to find out how they did probably felt like forever. But now that wait is almost over – and they’ll soon be able to get back to enjoying what remains of the summer holidays.

According to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), more than 147,000 candidates are expected to receive their results on this year’s results day, across a whole range of different qualifications. These include their National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers, upon which conditional university or college offers may hang.

But how exactly does results day usually play out? How do students actually get their results, and what comes next? Here’s what you need to know:

Results day will be a time of celebration for many across Scotland | (Image: National World/Getty/Adobe Stock)

When is SQA results day?

Results day is set to arrive next week – falling on Tuesday, August 5 this year.

It is worth noting that SQA is in the process of being replaced by a new national awarding body called Qualifications Scotland. However, it won’t assume SQA’s responsibilities until December, it says, so this likely won’t have much of an impact on pupils receiving their exam results this year.

How students will get their results

All learners should receive their results via first-class post next Tuesday. These will usually arrive some time in the morning. Students can then choose to open them at home with their family, or meet up with friends or classmates to open them together.

If they remembered to sign up to MySQA before July 16, they will also receive their results via text or email. These too will usually arrive quite early in the day, often from about 8am.

What comes next?

Whether it’s heading back to class to start studying towards their next set of qualifications in a few weeks’ time, attending a post-results day award ceremony at their school, or enjoying what remains of the holidays, usually the next steps after results day are pretty straight-forward. Exceptions, however, may include students planning on heading off to university next, and those who believe there might be a problem with their results.

In the latter case, SQA runs a free appeals service. Students can either appeal a grade directly, or have their school do it on their behalf. If you or your child opt to do this, a senior marker will look over their exam paper to make sure it has been marked correctly, in keeping with official standards.

Candidates have until Tuesday, August 12 to submit a priority appeal – such as if they have a university offer waiting – or until August 26 for any others. Information on how to do this will be in your results booklet.

If the next step in your plan is university, then you’ll be wanting to check in on the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) online portal come results day. If you already have conditional offers from any of the universities you applied to and you’ve managed to achieve the grades you need, your place should be confirmed there relatively quickly. At this point, your university will be in touch to let you know what comes next.

If you didn’t get the grades required for your offers, it may still be worth having a chat with the admissions team at your university of choice. If they aren’t able to offer you a place, or if you originally applied after the deadline, UCAS will then enter you into Clearing. This helps connect you to other universities with open places around the UK, and usually has hundreds if not thousands of courses available. UCAS will try to match you up to courses it thinks fit your interests, which you can find under the ‘My Matches’ button.

Once you do find a course that catches your eye, you will need to call that university to discuss whether they would consider you. With their approval, you can add them to your application by clicking 'add Clearing choice' and filling in the details – after which it should hopefully be smooth sailing.

Not getting the results you had hoped can be a distressing and confusing time. SQA also runs a candidate advice line service from results day until Friday, August 8. You can reach it by calling 0345 279 1000 between 8.30am and 5.30pm on those dates. Parents and students should also check with their child’s school, who may have staff on hand to provide support.