SQA celebrates 'achievements and hard work' of Scotland's learners on Results Day 2024
Tuesday 6 August 2024
Learners across Scotland will receive their national qualification results today (Tuesday 6 August 2024) as the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) celebrated their 'achievement and hard work'.
Around 145,000 learners – from all corners of the country – will receive the traditional envelope through the letterbox containing their results and qualifications certificate.
Fiona Robertson, Chief Executive of SQA and Scotland’s Chief Examining Officer, said: "Our warmest congratulations to the 145,000 learners across Scotland whose achievements are being celebrated today. They can be rightly proud of their positive performance."
As well as National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher results, thousands of learners will also be celebrating a record-breaking year for vocational-based qualifications. The total of National Progression Awards, National Certificates, Skills for Work, and SQA Awards rose by 24.8% to 90,035.
This year saw the return of full course assessment in National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses, following consultation with learners, teachers and lecturers and their representative groups, parents, carers, education partners and the Scottish Government. Coursework and exams for some practical subjects were removed temporarily during the pandemic.
Full course assessment helps ensure that learners are equipped with the knowledge and full range of skills needed to support their successful next steps in education, training, or employment.
Fiona Robertson added: "All learners can be confident that the qualifications they have earned – by demonstrating their knowledge, understanding and skills across full course assessment – provide a solid foundation for the next stage in their learning, training, or employment. We wish them all continued success.
"While there is some variability in the national attainment picture in 2024, this is a solid set of results for learners in National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses. 2024 also marks a record-breaking year for vocational qualifications, as Scotland’s learners excelled in achieving valuable skills to build rewarding careers.
"And all of this has been achieved by a group of learners who experienced significant disruption to teaching and learning during the pandemic.
"Scotland’s learners should be rightly proud of their achievements, supported by Scotland's dedicated and hard-working teachers, lecturers, our schools and colleges, and the wider education community."
The headline figures for 2024
| Category | National 5 | Higher | Advanced Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entries | 327,950 | 196,250 | 28,495 |
| A-C attainment rate | 77.2% | 74.9% | 75.3% |
| A attainment rate | 38.0% | 30.3% | 30.0% |
National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher attainment, 2019, 2023 and 2024
| Year | National 5 A-C attainment | Higher A-C attainment | Advanced Higher A-C attainment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 78.2% | 74.8% | 79.4% |
| 2023 | 78.8% | 77.1% | 79.8% |
| 2024 | 77.2% | 74.9% | 75.3% |
NOTE: There have been different approaches to awarding in each year since 2019. This means that comparisons of attainment between years should be treated with significant caution and do not allow for meaningful conclusions to be drawn on changes in education performance during this time.
Number of qualifications at Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework (SCQF) levels 1-6 attained in 2024
- Awards - 41,090
- National Certificates – 4,725
- National Progression Awards - 29,360
| National Course | Course entries | Number attained | % attained |
|---|---|---|---|
| National 2 | 2,905 | 2,180 | 75.0% |
| National 3 | 29,410 | 25,110 | 85.4% |
| National 4 | 128,070 | 108,185 | 84.5% |
| Skills for Work | 18,055 | 14,860 | 82.3% |
Record-breaking achievement with 24% increase in vocational and technical qualification awards
2024 saw learners achieve a record number of vocational qualification awards, following an increase of 24.8%. The awards included a wide range of areas including leadership, employability and personal finance, as well as a range of Skills for Work courses, Awards, National Certificates and National Progression Awards.
The increasing breadth of qualifications has clearly captured the imagination of learners across Scotland - including in areas such as Mental Health and Wellbeing, Computer Games Development, Sports and Fitness: Team Sports, Employability, Personal Finance, Modern Languages for Life and Work and Sports Development.
Fiona Robertson added: "While Results Day provides an important focus on learner achievement which is being certificated today, we are also celebrating those who receive their certificates throughout the year, including for Higher National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications and for those undertaking Foundation Apprenticeships.
"The wide range of qualifications is supporting young people in reaching their full potential as they progress to college, university, apprenticeships, other learning, training and employment."
2024 in numbers
National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher
- Almost 129,000 learners from around 500 schools, colleges and training providers took these courses
- More than two million exam papers and more than 1.3 million items of coursework
- More than 7,400 markers and 132 Principal Assessors (experienced teachers and lecturers)
- 147 Grade Boundary meetings
Support for learners
SQA's Appeals service is free of charge and can be accessed directly by learners or on their behalf by their school or college. It opens at 9am on Results Day. More information has been included with learners' certificates today and is available at sqa.org.uk/appeals.
A trial service for learners to request access to their marked exam papers in five subjects is also available today and can help them decide whether to appeal. To take part learners need to speak to their school or college. More information has been included with learners’ certificates today and is available at sqa.org.uk/markedexamtrial.
If learners have a query about their certificate, they can call SQA’s Candidate Advice Line on 0345 279 1000
Skills Development Scotland’s Results Helpline: 0808 100 8000
UCAS: 0371 468 0468 / Clearing resources can be found at ucas.com/clearing-launch.