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.

Good luck to all doing Maths H and AH today 🤞

DD has worked hard and her confidence has improved. I just hope she is nice and calm during the exam and doesn’t get stressed! And remembers to change the mode on her calculator when needed (that caused her some unnecessary drama in the prelim!)

Good luck to everyone doing higher maths today. DS2 has apps next week. Nat 5 music tech tomorrow but the exam is only an hour.

DS was quietly confident of B, maybe an A in AH maths last night. He says it is his best subject, with AH physics to come. So I hope that he keeps the study up on that in case his maths confidence is misplaced.

Lots of very upset kids in the school I’m working in over higher maths. They felt paper 1 was awful and paper 2 not much better.

My child was very unhappy with paper 1 😢

DS was also disappointed about Maths higher - it’s his strongest subject but some of the paper 2 questions really threw him.

The paper was double Dutch to me but I’m not sure if they were being tested on things they weren’t expecting, or whether it was phrasing and the question structure. Does seem everyone had the same thoughts though.

DD and her boyfriend through the maths higher was unusual in the framing of the questions. DD thinks she has still done ok though. 🤞🏻

Not a lot of feedback from DD, says there was a last question on paper two that she had no idea what it was?

lots of comments on the QS TikTok channel, including screenshots of emails of complaint sent to QS customer service! I don’t want to ask too much and spook DD but she failed prelim but says it was ‘pretty good?’

My daughter said the higher maths today was awful and she was quite confident day before

If a paper was awful and they all score poorly, they will just bring the grade boundaries down though won't they?

My DD seems to think it was fine - eeek. She said the last Q on paper 2 was tough and only she and one other seem to have attempted it from those in her room.

She is naturally quite gifted at Maths so I'm not sure if she's a good barometer.

If it's been an unusually hard paper they'll have to lower the grade boundaries (more than they already do for Maths!!)

Yeh hopefully, my daughter was pretty confident before it. She's got some of answers from a friend's dad who is a maths teacher. Not sure if a good thing or not 😂 trying to go through them and estimate what she got. Needs A for uni 🙈

DS is quietly confident for AH maths. He said paper 1 was good, paper 2 harder (esp the last 2 questions) but he made a reasonable attempt and all his classmates found those questions particularly hard too.

Daughter said paper 1 awful at higher maths. Was crying which must impact paper 2. Oh well.
her maths tutor thought the paper 1 was straightforward but that’s not what pupils seem to be saying

DS friends did H maths and all said was horrendous. DS resitting Nat 5 maths tomorrow as only got a D last year. He just needs a C and has had a tutor all year so hoping the Nat 5 paper isn't as horrendous as the H maths was and he gets a C. His Higher English and Admin went well thankfully. 2 more H over next 2 weeks Will be glad when it's over!

Higher Music Technology tomorrow, then RMPS on Monday... And then she's done! What a slog.

No rest for the wicked though... She's using the rest of her free time in exam leave to pick up extra shifts at work to put money away for summer.

Good luck for Nat5 maths today.

The petition to QS about the wording on paper 1 has over 3k signatures. DD still says it was fine - but all the comments seem to be coming from string maths students working at an A? Not sure whether this worries me more 😩

Where is this petition @YouBelongWithMe. Praying the N5 maths paper is kind today for all those sitting it.

DD is the same re Maths H. Came out smiling and said it was good (which is amazing given she was v nervous about this one) She didn’t feel too stressed out about it. She admitted there were a couple of questions she was clueless on but gave them a shot. She did say the wording and presentation of some questions were completely different from the style of previous past papers which it what I see some of the comments on TikTok refer to.

But yes, some of her friends who are solid Maths students found it trickier than her so I worry she has misunderstood questions and thinks she’s done well and actually hasn’t! Which of course I haven’t said to her and feel dreadful for even thinking 🤯

if they lower the grade boundaries then it will give her a chance of securing a higher grade so I suppose it’s a good thing?

This is the link:

https://petitionqsmaths.netlify.app/#highermaths

This is exactly how I feel too!

Have just spoken to two maths teachers in the school where I’m working and they said they thought it was a fair paper and maybe the students are selectively remembering the hard parts.

DS usually messages between papers 1 and 2 in his exams. Heard nothing so panicking now it was bad :(