Scottish students are being sent ‘blank’ emails instead of grades on exam results day

Pupils in Scotland today received ‘blank’ emails instead of grades as 145,000 received their National, Higher and Advanced Placement exam results.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said it was working “urgently” to resolve issues for some candidates who had signed up to receive their results via email.

The organization said the problem affected students who had signed up to receive their results via email only. Others received their results via post or text message.

As part of the SQA process, a team of 7,400 examiners assessed approximately two million examination papers and over 1.3 million coursework assignments.

Certificates were sent to candidates across Scotland by first class post, but around 58,000 students also signed up to receive grade notifications via text message or email.

The email began with the words: “Dear Candidate, Your results for 2024 are as follows:”

It went on to say: “If you have any questions about your results, please contact your school, college or training provider who can advise you on your options. You can also visit www.sqa.org.uk/yourresults where you will find lots of useful information and how to contact us if you need to.”

The email concluded: “I send you my best wishes for the future. Yours faithfully, Fiona Robertson, SQA Chief Executive and Chief Examinations Officer for Scotland.”

The Conservative Party’s education spokesman for Scotland, Liam Kerr MSP, slammed the “chaotic situation”, blaming the Scottish Government and SQA for the blank emails.

He told BBC News: “This chaotic and disorganized situation is the last thing students across Scotland needed on results day. Receiving a blank email has only increased students’ concerns about how they have performed in their exams.

“Successive SNP education secretaries have delayed and delayed reform of the SQA for far too long. Even then, their plans are more of a sticking plaster than the across-the-board changes that Scottish education requires.”

SQA said on X: “We are working urgently to resolve the issue. Texts are not affected and the vast majority of students who have signed up to MySQA are receiving their results as expected.

“All students across Scotland will receive their physical report cards in the post today.”

It later confirmed the issue had been resolved, saying: “We have resolved a technical issue that was affecting candidates who had registered to receive their results via email only using the MySQA service.

“The texts have not changed and the vast majority of students who signed up to MySQA achieved results in line with expectations.

“We apologise for any concern caused to participants who experienced a delay in the delivery of their MySQA email with attached results.”

The news comes after exam chiefs said students across Scotland achieved “solid results”, although the number of those passing the top grades fell slightly compared to last year.

This year’s results showed that 77.2% of those taking the National 5 exams passed with grades A to C. In 2023, this fell to 78.8%.

For higher level students, 74.9% passed with the highest grade, down from 77.1% last year, and for advanced level students, 75.3% achieved grades A to C, down from 79.8% in 2023.

The SQA stressed that “significant caution” should be taken when comparing results because changes during and after the COVID-19 pandemic have meant a different approach has been taken to delivering the exams each year since 2019.

However, the Scottish Government said the results showed the impact of the poverty-related attainment gap, saying the results were “broadly similar” to those in 2019 – the last year before the pandemic.

Education Minister Jenny Gilruth also said the economic recovery from the pandemic “has contributed to some of the volatility in results we’ve seen this year”.

She spoke today as some 145,000 students across Scotland received their exam results – the highest number since 2015.

Ms Robertson said that overall, “despite some variability in the national achievement picture in 2024, this is a solid set of results for students taking National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses”.

She added that “2024 is also a record year for vocational qualifications, with students across Scotland achieving outstanding results in gaining valuable skills that have allowed them to build rewarding careers.”

“All of this was achieved by a group of students whose teaching and learning was significantly disrupted by the pandemic.”

Ms Robertson said: “Scottish students should be proud of their achievements, supported by dedicated and hard-working Scottish teachers, lecturers, our schools and colleges, and the wider educational community.”

Students were awarded grades for a wide range of qualifications, including vocational qualifications. There was a 24% increase in the number of vocational and technical qualifications awarded, meaning a total of 90,045 such qualifications were awarded.

Ms Gilruth congratulated all students on receiving their results, noting that there will be “significant disruption to learning due to the pandemic” at the end of primary school and the beginning of secondary school.

The Education Minister added: “I am really pleased that a record 90,045 vocational or technical qualifications were awarded this year, an increase of almost a quarter on the results in 2023.

“Young people now have far more choice than ever before, enabling them to find the right route into employment or further education. We know that the poverty gap has fallen by 60 per cent since 2009 for young people leaving school and making positive choices such as work, training or further education.”

But she added: “Of course, Scotland is no exception and, like other countries around the world, our education system is still recovering from the pandemic.

“This has undoubtedly contributed to some of the volatility in results we have seen this year, particularly with the full return to qualifying requirements for the first time since the pandemic.

“I am committed to working with our teachers, school staff and local authorities to make further improvements in our schools.”

A helpline operated by careers advisers from Skills Development Scotland was launched at 8am on Tuesday to provide advice to students and parents on their options once their results are in.

You can contact us on 0808 100 8000. The office will be open from 8am to 8pm today and tomorrow, and from 9am to 5pm on Thursday and Friday.

In the meantime, the SQA has launched a free appeals service for students who want to challenge their grades. The service will go live at 9am today.

In addition, as part of a Scotland-wide trial scheme, students in some subjects will be able to access their marked exam papers through their school or college.

SQA believes the move will give students the opportunity to decide whether to appeal their results.

The qualifying body introduced the scheme on a limited trial basis in 2023, with it only applying to a small group of schools in two subject areas.

It is now available in all schools and colleges and provides access to audited exam papers in five subjects: Geography (National 5 and above); Graphic Communication (National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher); Media (National 5); Music (National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher) and Statistics (Advanced Higher).

Have you received a blank email from SQA? Please send an email to [email protected]