SQA Results Day 2024
This year, SQA results are out on Tuesday 6 August 2024.
It’s a day of nervous energy, anticipation and excitement but what actually happens on SQA (Scottish Qualification Awards) results day?
Our guide gives you the inside information so you can capitalise on your SQA results.
What will happen on SQA results day?
You will receive your results in one of two ways. Either delivered in the mail by your friendly postman or if you’ve previously signed up to MySQA, sent by email or text from 8am onwards.
Whether you signed up for MySQA or not, you will receive a copy of your Scottish Qualifications Certificate through the post on Tuesday 6 August.
Your certificate includes a covering letter, a commemorative certificate, a summary of all attainment, a detailed record of this year’s attainment, and a Core Skills and SCQF profile, which explains the level of your qualifications.
Please keep your SQC in a safe place as this acts as proof of your achieved results.
If you’re waiting on these results for a UCAS college or university place, the great news is that the Scottish Qualification Authority will automatically send these results to UCAS at the same time.
I didn't receive my results - what should I do?
If you haven’t received your results by text, email or post, don’t just sit worrying and don't panic!
Contact your school or college directly and they'll be able to give them to you.
If there’s anything missing or wrong with your certificate, call the SQA Candidate Advice line on 0345 279 1000.
What happens next?
What you do once you have your results depends on which qualification you have just completed:
1. National 5
If your results at National 5 aren’t as good as you hoped to allow you to progress to study Highers, don’t be too downcast.
The ultimate decision on whether you can study at Higher is down to the individual school/college, so if you’re just on the borderline, this is your chance to persuade your teachers you’re capable of a higher level of study. Phone and speak to them as soon as you can. Don’t put it off.
Alternatively if you don’t pass your national 5, you may still be awarded a National 4 as part of the Scottish Recognising Positive Achievement arrangements. If this happens it’s best to contact your school to discuss what options you have available as these will differ by individual institution.
2. Highers
If the results are your Higher grades that allow you to progress into Advanced Highers (congratulations) but you’d like to improve one of your grades to apply for a different university course with more stringent entry requirements, you may be able to resit this Higher while studying your Advanced ones.
Again it’s worth chatting to your teachers as the options can differ by school/college. If you are going to go down this route, please study the entry qualifications for your university/college course in great detail to ensure they will allow resits.
3. Advanced Highers
If your Advanced Higher grades haven’t given you the entry requirements for your university course firm offer, there’s still lots of options including accepting your insurance offer or applying for Clearing vacancies via UCAS.
If you've received better results than expected, you can decide whether to want to use the UCAS self-release option and look for a better opportunity in Clearing.
This will involve phoning and chatting with university tutors, and selling yourself to them by explaining why you would make an excellent candidate for the course (make sure you have a copy of your personal statement to hand if this is what you decide to do).
It's also worth reading our guide to UCAS Clearing 2024 too for more great information on securing a place at university.
I'm not sure I still want to go to university - what should I do?
Although you’ve received awesome results, you may have decided you no longer want to go to university. If this is the case, please consider carefully all the pros and cons before making a final decision.
Once you know what you'd like to do moving forwards, there are numerous other choices available too that you might want to consider as an alternative to university:
You can also try speaking to your teachers, as they will know you best about how you work, your strengths, etc. and what option might suit you for getting your career off the ground.
I'm not happy with my results - what can I do?
If you don't think your grade is right, you may be able to make an appeal.
It’s a good idea to talk to your parents and teachers first about your results, but ultimately the decision to appeal is up to you.
If you decide to go ahead with an appeal, you can submit it directly to the SQA or ask your teacher to submit it for you.
The appeals service is free and will be open on results day from 9am.
Information about the appeals process can be found on the SQA website.
Further information
For more tips and advice on life after school or college, please see: