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.

DS's chemistry teacher discouraged him from appealing but I insisted it was happening. We had nothing to lose. He got a C for his prelim. His teacher said no one has been successful at appealing for chemistry so my son wouldn't either...

Definitely appeal if you can. I wish your DS every success on his journey. Things will work out, you'll see☺️

it's getting to be just as hard to get (some) graduate apprenticeships to be honest. In my organistion the calibre is very high so you need just as good grades as going to uni - it's a fabulous option but not always a "lower grades needed" option

This. Graduate apprenticeships are very competitive. On the other hand modern apprenticeships, which have much lower entry criteria, can sometimes seem more exploitative with their very low salaries and questionable progression ability.

Some companies like Network Rail offer apprenticeships but the initial training period is tough with the salary being low but after qualifying it jumps up significantly the salary. I think they're often expected to carry out their training in places close to Southampton as well. A lot of inconvenience but ultimately worth it.

Loads of other companies out there probably offer a similar experience re: salary.

Can anyone tell me if the component scores given out by school are the raw results before any scaling is applied or is the scaling already applied? Thanks

@Googlybear21 can you explain what a component score is please and where you are getting them? Is your child at private school? We are new to exams this year and I don’t know what this means.

No, not private school. Your child can ask their teacher for a breakdown of the marks for each part of their exam, so you can see where they may have done better or worse on some papers. Some exams have marks that are scaled up and then totalled.

Had my question answered by school, it is the scaled results they get.

Hi @Googlybear21 we got them yesterday and it’s the raw scores. So, for example, for maths, scores are 45 & 34. This is out of 55 and 65. So 45+34 =79/120 x 100/1 =65.833, say 66%, B grade.

We got AH Chemistry today and were given the scaled ones. V confusing!

Gosh, sorry I think l’m perhaps using the incorrect terminology myself 😂, apologies for the confusion.
I know my above calc is correct as I’ve done it for all DDs subjects to get her percentages, which were all out of different max possible scores .

Network Rail are making mass redundancies at the moment. A good friend works there at a high level and they have not been a great employer, despite winning HR accolades.

I wouldn’t have expected to get this kind of breakdown until they return after the summer from our school.

Given QS can email/text results to individual students, you would think they could also give score breakdowns. I guess they want schools to mediate for them though.

This is also an issue with apprenticeships - you are committing to years with an employer who is subject to the whims of the commercial or public sector environment. Apprenticeships are not immune to redundancies/closures/relocations/business insolvencies etc. I was recently speaking to someone whose job included trying to match up ‘orphaned’ apprentices part way through their apprenticeships with new companies.

Hugely recommend your daughter speaking to her teacher to ask their opinion - for example I tell all of my pupils not to go near past papers on their own until around Christmas time. Either they practice them all so many times they get over confident, or they panic because they’re unsure how to answer. My best advice to my pupils is go home and read your notes every night. Make sure you understand everything we did that day and go back and read over old notes regularly to consolidate.

speaking as a teacher, with zero no awards in the exams this year.

DD got 2 Ds in her Highers, whilst she had failed her prelims (big wake up call) a huge amount of work went into studying for exams with tutors, easter study camps etc - she really doesn't know where she went wrong. Is it worth putting in an appeal for a re-mark - I am not sure how it works? She needs 2 highers to get into her course - arghhhhh!

Her school will have her component marks - they’ll be able to decide using them if a remark is appropriate

Yes definitely put the appeals through. Don't be disheartened. My eldest got his C for H Chemistry by appealing even though his teacher advised against it. He got a D in the exam but a C for the prelim.

Thinking of your DD and hope she is successful not just with the appealing of both Highers but with her learning journey going forward ❤️

Definitely speak to the school; you will need the school to put in a priority appeal if her course depends on grades. If she is in S5 you might also want to speak to school about alternative course options. Also speak to college about alternative courses. Whilst an appeal (really just an administrative check of marking) can be successful, only 6% of higher appeals resulted in an improved grade last year so it is important not to rest all your hopes on it. Also, though very rare, you can go down a grade so if you are near the lower boundary for a grade then you might want to think about the risk.

It appears to be very rare to get a successful remark as it's now called. That's why DS's chemistry teacher was not supportive but accepted my wishes in the end which meant he did get his C against all the odds. Apparently they miraculously found an A4 side of correct answers to bring it up to a C.

It's worth a shot even if the chances are low as PP has said. But do look to the school for advice for alternative options should the remark not be successful for the two Highers.

Thank you - I doubt we would resit - but take alternative L6 NPA type courses instead and Uni have confirmed they will accept entrance via college course HND so there is an alternative way round.

HND is an excellent alternative route that I know many students have taken, sometimes after some time out of education.

So much conversation around results focus on five As at Higher with people saying ‘my DC only got Two As and three B/Cs at Higher’ that it is easy to forget the very large numbers of pupils who get just one or two Highers or no Highers or Nat 5s at all. My older DC were straight A/university, but my youngest DC is college bound and it is like an alternative world of courses that we don’t hear about. Further education colleges should be much better funded as they do so much to drive employment and economy and routes to higher education. They also provide a route to retraining for graduates who go can’t get jobs based on their degrees!

I went HNC - HND - Uni myself and showed DD my S5 results (also had D grades!), and she said you've done well mum! I agree with what you're saying - the local college here has a vast array of courses, some of which sound really interesting to me! DD is also ASN so, I know that going straight to Uni would have probably been too big a stretch for her, even if she had passed her exams. The D in English might be an issue but I think the L6 Comm & Literature is equal to a C pass, need to check with school next week.

My DS1 went to FE college after messing up his Nat5s and leaving school halfway through 5th year with a few years out of education in between.
It took 6 years but he graduated from uni with a first class degree this summer and secured a good graduate job within weeks, his unconventional route through education didn’t seem to have put anyone off, they were more interested in the skills he acquired at uni.
the testing schedule at college is spread out over the year and much more forgiving with resits etc than school and this reduced pressure really helps some young people.