Exam results Scotland 2025: What time are exam results released? Can I appeal my result?
Take a look at what you need to know about this year’s SQA exam results.
It is one of the biggest and most nerve-wracking dates in the calendar for young people across Scotland - exam results day.
Tens of thousands of young people will get their results for their National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams on Tuesday, issued courtesy of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
As these young people receive their exam results, there will also be scrutiny of the wider academic trends, including questions for the Scottish Government on pass rates and the poverty-related attainment gap.
Here’s what you need to know about exam results day for 2025.
How many pupils will be getting results?
More than 147,000 learners will receive their results on Tuesday.
The exams were held back in the spring, starting with computer science and psychology on April 25, and ending with care on May 30. In total, over 132,000 learners sat an exam.
More than two million exam papers were completed at 480 different schools, colleges and training centres.
When will learners get their results?
Those who have signed up to MySQA will receive their results by text or email at 8am on Tuesday.
Those who have signed up for this service, but are on holiday abroad will only receive these texts if they have set up their phone to work outside the UK.
Otherwise physical certificates will be posted out by first-class post throughout the day.
Can grades be appealed?
Yes - learners or their parents can do this themselves, or they can ask their school to do it for them.
Young people are encouraged to speak to their teacher first before appealing their grade and to think about whether the grade they receive is in line with their estimated grade, as a successful appeal could see the grade go up or go down.
Appeals will not be accepted if the learner was disqualified for breaking the rules, was awarded under the examination exceptional circumstances consideration service, or is already an A grade.
Learners and parents can self-appeal online at sqa.org.uk/appeals. They will need their personal details and their SQA candidate number to do this. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, August 26. All appeals will be determined by October.
Schools can also appeal grades and the deadline for this is Friday, August 29.
What if an appeal is needed to get into university?
Those who have a conditional offer for university or college that depends on an appealed grade will be prioritised.
This must be approved by the school or college the exam was sat in, and they will need to list which college or university the offer is for.
The final day for priority self-appeals is Tuesday, August 12, and the final day for priority appeals done through the school is Thursday, August 21.
Priority appeals will be determined by Monday, September 1.
What support is on offer?
The SQA helpline (0345 279 1000) will be open from 8am to 6pm on Tuesday, and 8.30am to 5pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Skills Development Scotland (SDS) also has a results helpline, which opens at 8am on Tuesday.
The SDS Results Helpline will be staffed by expert careers advisers to assist anybody that needs help with their options and next steps. The helpline is designed to provide impartial career information, advice, and guidance.
The 2025 SDS Results Helpline is 0808 100 8000 and will be open on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8am to 8pm, and Thursday and Friday from 9am to 5pm.
Courtney McLaughlin, a Kilmarnock Academy pupil who is now 17, called the helpline in August last year to get advice about her SQA results from her fourth-year exams after not getting the National 5 grades she had hoped for in English and History.
“I was so upset when I opened my results that I started crying and called the results helpline for help,” she said.
“The adviser calmed me down and made me feel much better through our conversation. I was able to see that it was not the end of the world and that I still had options. They advised me to speak to my teacher, who reassured me that I could re-take those subjects in fifth year, if I wanted.”
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.”
What if there is a mistake in the results?
If a young person does not receive their results, they should contact their school or college in the first instance.
The SQA candidate advice line (0345 279 1000) can be used if something is wrong or missing from the results.
Who marks the exam papers?
More than 7,000 teachers and college lecturers mark the papers. Training was given to all markers before they began.
Markers are grouped into small teams, with a team leader to ensure consistency and to monitor standards.
After the papers were all marked, grade boundary meetings were held for each subject. If an exam was deemed easier or harder than previous years, the grade boundaries will change.
Grades are awarded after this process.
Trends to keep an eye out for
While most of the day will focus on individual learners’ achievements, there will be a lot of focus on the overall pass rates.
Last year 74.9 per cent passed their Higher exam. This is down from 77.1 per cent in 2023, 79.9 per cent in 2022 and 89.3 per cent in 2020. It is slightly higher than the pre-pandemic pass rate of 74.8 per cent.
The other figure to keep an eye on is the poverty-related attainment gap. This is the difference between the pass rates for pupils in the most and least deprived areas.
Earlier this year it was revealed the gap for National 5 exams was 22.7 per cent. This is up from 20.2 per cent in 2022/23. The gap between school leavers receiving one or more Highers was 38.4 per cent in 2023/24, up from 36.9 per cent the previous year.
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