2026 SQA exams - is there a thread?

[YouBelongWithMe]

I can't see a thread so am starting it!

Last year my DS went through a mix of Hs and AH in S6 and now is finishing first year of uni.

It's now the middle child's turn - she's sitting six Highers in S5, and they're all packed in over about thirteen days! She's totally finished by the 11th.

Can't believe they've come round so fast.

DD got four As and failed maths. This followed a failed prelim, a paid for online tutor and an intensive exam sprint course.

overall delighted, still has S6 and the four As are a solid foundation. We had talked about resitting maths but in honesty the effort was put in and it was still a fail, no courses that interest her have maths as a condition so it’s time to put that to bed which she is delighted about.

hope everyone is okay x

Any luck with the results ?If no luck does anyone have a spare key that you could ask to go and check the post and open this and send the results , if your DC is ok with that .

Post has been but has brought disappointment. Passed all 5 Highers but AABCC instead of the 5 As predicted. 😭

The school will have them if there's someone there today. DD's school has SQA coordinator in this afternoon for queries. Might be worth a call or email?

Are the grade boundaries out yet? Was supposed to be 9.30 but I don’t see them on QS website?

Happy household this morning. 4 A's and a B at higher. Only needed 2 A's for his conditional and already has his confirmation from uni this morning.
I'm incredibly proud as he lost his beloved grandmother in March so has done well through his grief. I think he wanted to make her proud. It was tough not being able to call her and share the news today though, she was always his biggest champion.

Yes, they're out. English the only one of DDs subjects with altered boundaries, easier to get an A1, but harder for all other grades. Engineering Science seems to be most adjusted.

For those that no their DC's actual score, has the school sent that through? Or is there another way to know?

Post just arrived. Higher Music question. DDs detailed record has J2AL music performance skills listed but the grade is blank. Is that normal?

Edited to add that it's under National Units not National Courses and she had the same last year for numeracy, so looks like it is an ungraded add on. (Also previous post should have said know, of course, not no.)

We've been on the boundaries too - DC got a no-award for AH Chemistry even though the percentage for a D had been lowered to 34%. It doesn't matter as they got the precious one grade needed for first choice Uni (thankfully not to sit Chemistry) but it's very unexpected given they were on the B/C borderline (58-63%) all year. We are going to put in an appeal just to see as it's so far below expected it might be something missed.

And well done to everyone who has got the grades they needed, and commiserations to those who didn't - there will be something out there for everyone in time.

1A 2B and 2C here. Disappointed with B for modern studies as been above 80% all year and with C for English. Predicted grades were 3A 1B and 1C. Should be good enough for uni though and still s6 to go where he is doing 4 highers and 1 nat 5. Debating resitting English.

What an anxious wait! My daughter opted to wait for the postie, he never came until 1pm.
She sat five Nat 5's (S4, so first attempt) and passed four.
She has a NA for Modern, because she misread the guidance on the paper. A real shame, because she was upwards of 90% at prelim and expected to scoosh the Nat 5.
She upped from an expected D to a B in English though, so we're focusing on that positive!

My DD opted to wait for the postie, I had to have a quiet word with DH to prevent him from videoing her opening the envelope just in case it wasn't the result she wanted, he has the sensitivity of a brick sometimes. Thankfully it was a very good result, all As in her Nat 5s. See for those that are saying their DCs have the results for university, do you have to apply in S5 while still waiting for the higher results or do you wait and apply in S6 if they're going to be staying on regardless? DD is under the impression that she would apply during S6 to go at the end of S6 but her school isn't the most reliable at communicating these things.

Mixed.results for.my sons 8 nat 5s..2As.for.his Maths Apps.and PE,B in English,Cs for Geography and Engineering and Ds for Maths,Physics and Biology..appealing his.geography as expected an A.Delighted with his A.in Apps.and.B in English
...he did best in the subjects.hes taking at higher in S5 so thats all that matters..and no resits.

You can apply to Uni in S5 and go at the end of S5, but the norm is to apply in S6 with grades in hand. Makes the application slightly less stressful, especially if they have good enough grades for an unconditional offer.

You apply for uni the autumn/winter before you want to go. So if she wants to stay on S6 and go straight after that (most common scenario) she would apply after her S5 higher results during S6. The deadline for most courses is January of S6 (medicine has an October deadline)

Well done to to your older son for his successes. You write ‘mix of As, Bs and one C at Nat 5 level’ as if is a modest achievement; we are delighted with my DC small selection of Nat 4s.

Conservatoires also have an earlier deadline for some courses. There's a UCAS 2027 thread if anyone wants to join us over there. It has a list of open days (not complete but we do our best), UCAS events and UCAS deadlines on it.

Edited to add link

Definitely worth visiting a couple of university open days this autumn (in S5) even if you are not sure what degree you want to study or can only get along to a local university you have no intention of attending. It helps give you a baseline to work from in thinking about universities next autumn (S6). You do need to sign up to talks in advance. The subject stands will also be able to give you pointers on the sort of things they consider in personal statements or interviews that you might need to work on this year.

I'm hoping to get a place at the Dundee open day in October and we've already done one at St Andrews which she absolutely loved.

Every single Saturday in Oct is taken up with open days here.

She's heavily leaning towards Leeds or Salford, which are on consecutive Saturdays. Waaah.

all good here (phew) DD did 6 Nat 5s, which is the maximum her school allows (go figure( and got 5 As and one B. The B was for Art where she thinks not studying for the theory has cost her, as she’s been predicted an A all year. But she failed her second maths prelim and scraped a C in English, so delighted with those results. And really chuffed she got an A in Italian as her school dropped the Nat 5 course, so she did a combination of Saturday classes and independent study

So many disappointed kids, even when they've achieved the grades they need to do what they want. Why are we putting so much pressure on our kids. No kids doing apprenticeships?

The university pathway just doesn't pay anymore 😕

I do agree @ThisFirmExpertand we will be looking at some apprenticeships once they open up for next year.

I'm pleased for those who are happy, but feel for those who have put so much pressure on grades. I speak from experience, as my sister did law, and had large student loans , pressured by my parents. She burnt out, and gave it all up.