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.

My daughter is doing four highers in S5 - she needs four highers for the course she wants to do (primary education).
Does anyone have any suggestions for Higher course material I can get her for studying, that'll complement her school lessons? She did very little study in S4, left study until the last few weeks pre Nat 5s! She's taking her Highers more seriously, and wants to study throughout the year. Any advice/recommendations welcome 😊

4 highers for primary school 🙄

I bought my DD the "How to Pass" study guide books for Nat 5 and she found them useful so I've ordered them again for her Higher subjects from Waterstones.

@JasmineMac
i am not trying to put your daughter off or to be unkind, but please ensure she knows that there are so few primary jobs in Scotland and a massive surplus of qualified teachers. Over 4000 teachers cannot get a permanent job. I know at least two primary teachers who have had to give up and go into alternative employment as they could not get a permanent full time job for love nor money 😢. This is particularly problematic across the central belt.

She's aware 😊

Unusual to be looking to England given fees but at three years long instead of four in Scotland so long as you get a full time job after graduating it is relatively cost neutral.

Yes. It’s a graduate profession. Many of us also have Masters. It’s not just playdoh and junk modelling.

The course she wants to do is really rare in Scotland. There's a course at UWS but she really doesn't want to go there (and the grade boundaries are quite low which doesn't fill her with inspiration). It's quite a niche route she wants to go down.

I do agree. The pressure kids have now are insane.

as someone who’s got a kid who had extensive brain damage at birth, I have never felt the need to even worry about exams. Tbh I am shocked they even got this far to even be able to sit them - on paper it didn’t look likely once upon a time. So I guess I just have been happy to see them get this far and that’s an achievement in itself.

None of my school grades relate to the job I do now. And I did good! Not sure any employer I’ve had has cared less about them 🤣

My kids have seen me study other qualifications as an adult so they know they can get to where they want if and when they are ready. Apprenticeships are bloody great too.

Ah right / nowhere else do it in Scotland? That’s unusual - is that due to limited jobs in it? Would you share what the course is?

She wants to do Creative Music Technology - there's a course at UWS but she's really not very keen (although we will go to the open day and hopefully be amazed!). Edinburgh have something but it's very theoretical/mathematical and not at all the practical side of producing music. Salford, Leeds and BIMM are the best matches in terms of what the course offers for her.

Sounds good/ very niche. I think my sons friend wanted to do something similar and got all As and Bs in S5/S6 - got places at Edinburgh uni, Napier uni and UWS - went to open days n chose UWS and due to start this year- hope your daughter likes the open day. He also says there’s a degree in similar that u can do at riverside music college on southside of Glasgow.

@Chesticles @2026onwardsandup @Issy422

The email never arrived (she'd only requested email, no text) so eventually we rang the school who has her results and read them out to her, 7 As and a B for Physics! We're delighted for her but that was so stressful for us all this morning. I've checked through her emails and she definitely signed up to QS so we'll have to notify them that something went wrong!

@Chocolateporridge ds1 and ds2 both signed up for email only and ds1 got his eventually at 9.30 but ds2 never got his electronically. Trouble is I just don’t know whether it was him not activating it or not

I can understand looking in England then. In careers such as that it is not just the course that is important but contacts with the industry. It would be a shame if the industry wasn’t represented well in Scotland too but I can imagine there would be a lot more opportunities in England.

There's the problem, primary school should be less intense and more about learning through play.

Oh come on, these are brilliant grades and most importantly all passes 👏 🙌 💪

Let's keep some perspective here. They have many ways to achieve in this life time. This is only the beginning.

My eldest left school with five Highers, AABCC. And B at AH. Considering he has additional needs and needed me to help with revision and has mental health issues still ongoing today, he did well when he was there in the secondary school system. I am so proud of what he achieved despite all of the challenges.

Another in my family is a straight A student. They are all different.

Let's just celebrate their achievements - they have done their best. That's all we can ask of our young people.

Academic success is only one form of success. Everyone shines in their own way.

They are good grades but regardless of achievements you can still be disappointed with your grades especially when those grades mean you can no longer pursue the career you want. I don’t think we should tell young people on results day that they should not be disappointed that they can no longer become a doctor or start an modern apprenticeship or do the level 5 college course they wanted. We need to support them through their disappointment rather than dismiss it.

Recognising their disappointment is very different from being disappointed in them.

I hear what you are saying @user1476613140but although these are good passes, it has taken away the opportunity to study what he wanted. He is now going to have to change his direction.

sorry to hear this. Are there other routes in, eg HND/HNC, foundation year, etc? I’m sure there will be a way.

So shite there are no proper appeals now.

I agree, I’ve got one who breezed through school, 5 As, advanced highers etc and the other with ASD who after 2 years has got 6 highers, mainly As and Bs. I’m equally proud of them both, as I know what it took for them to get those results, but I’m not going to pretend that if my eldest hadn’t done as well, he wouldn’t have been entitled to feel upset/disappointed, just because he found school easier to cope with than his brother.

Thanks @StrictlyCoffee. Totally agree about how crap appeals are now. For everything to hang on a two hour exam is pretty rubbish. Yeah, we have been looking at alternative routes and definitely have a plan. He may still be offered a conditional on the course of his choice (at a different uni) but just makes things a little trickier. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is what we are trying to live by at the moment!

There is always a way, sometimes taking a slight detour, but there will be a way. Don't lose heart. Honestly things will work out❤️

My eldest got a D for H Chemistry, appealed and got his C. Please don't rule out appealing. I know it's not like the old system. You've little to lose as it is free.

It's really a shame that they ruined the appeal system. It worked fine as it was and gave pupils hope if they had a rubbish day on their exam. It's very frustrating.

Thanks @user1476613140
we do intend to appeal but the success rate is so low we aren’t holding out much hope. Despite the fact he was getting 80% plus on all his class tests and prelims.