If you're just joining us, here are the headlines from our live page coverage of results day in Scotland:

• This year's exam results are the first under Scotland's new exams body - Qualifications Scotland
• More than 148,000 candidates are receiving their marks for those qualifications, as well as vocational courses such as progression awards, national certificates and Skills for Work
• The overall pass rate for exams in Scotland has risen slightly on last year
• The number of pupils achieving an A, B or C grade at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher was up across the board when compared with last year, however, it is still below levels from 2023 at Higher and Advanced Higher
• The number of vocational and technical qualifications achieved across Scotland has also increased

• Female students achieved higher pass rates at all exam levels than their male counterparts, while private schools performed significantly better than state schools
• Admissions service Ucas said a record number of young Scots have been accepted into university or college
• Education Secretary Màiri McAllan praised those receiving their results for their "hard work and resilience" and hailed the "diversity of qualifications" that have been awarded
• She welcomed a narrowing of the poverty-related attainment gap compared with last year
• Opposition parties called for "outdated" exams to be scrapped and described it as "another very difficult year" for pupils
• Qualifications Scotland's learner support hub can be reached on 0345 279 1000

• A Skills Development Scotland helpline, external offers advice to anyone with questions about the next steps in their education

The main message from today is pupils are not alone, there are many opportunities out there and plenty of advice is available to them.

Thank you for joining us. Today's editor was Paul McLaren, and the writers were Katy Scott and Claire Thomson.

As we prepare to wind up our live page coverage, a reminder that there is lots of support available if your exam results haven't turned out as you'd hoped.

Qualifications Scotland's learner support hub can be reached on 0345 279 1000.

It will stay open until 18:00 today. It will then be available from 08:30 until 17:00 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Guidance staff at schools will also be on hand to provide help.

This year's stats show that female students have achieved higher pass rates at all levels than their male counterparts.

At Nat 5, the pass rate for girls was 80.9% as opposed to 77.5% for boys.

At Higher, it was 79% for female students and 74% for male.

However, both these figures represented a small closing of the gender gap.

At Advanced Higher, the gap between female (80.3%) pass rates and those of males (73.9%) widened.

Olivia, from Glasgow, says she was in "utter shock" after she found out she got three As and two Bs at Higher.

"Some of the ones I thought I wasn't going to do as well in, I've done really well in," she says.

"It's better than what I expected. I could do any course with my results so it's given me the best chance I could have."

She says she plans to celebrate with a meal at Italian American restaurant Grosso.

The latest stats show that private school pupils continue to have higher pass rates than State schools.

At National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher the pass rate for private school pupils is significantly higher than the State school average.

Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The Scottish government say this year's exam results show there's been a narrowing in the poverty-related attainment gap compared to last year and pre-Covid levels in 2019.

Government figures show the difference in an A-C pass for Higher qualifications attainment of those from the richest and poorest narrowed by 0.9 percentage points this year, compared to last year.

The figure is regarded as a significant marker - with ministers consistently pledging to tackle it for more than 10 years.

However, the Scottish Conservatives have said "no amount of spin" can hide what they call the "SNP’s broken promises" on the attainment gap.

The gap between the level of results achieved by students in the least deprived parts of Scotland and those in the most deprived closed a little in this year's figures - but still remains significant.

The "attainment gap" is a measure of the difference between the grades of the top 20% better-off students and those who live in the bottom fifth of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

The way SIMD is used has been changed this year which resulted in some revision of previous figures.

The latest stats show that at Nat 5, the gap is 15.6 percentage points, down from 16.4.

That's because 86.6% of better-off students got an A to C grades this year as opposed to 71% of those in the most deprived areas.

At Higher, the gap is 15.9 percentage points, down from 16.8 last year.

And at Advanced Higher it is 12.1, down from 13.3.

David Knox
Reporting from Hawick

Of all the schools in the Scottish Borders, Hawick High had the greatest success rate of pupils going onto positive destinations.

AJ is among the 99.3% of students either going to higher education, further education, work or training.

The 16-year-old has secured a position with textiles company Johnston’s of Elgin following a training placement.

“School really wasn't for me and I just wanted to take the next step into the adult world," he says.

“I really enjoyed working in the different departments at Johnston’s and it gave me a chance to work out what I would like to do.”

Courses at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher are graded A-D, and the boundaries for each grade vary from year to year.

Qualifications Scotland sets the initial grade boundaries at 50% for a C, 70% for an A, and 85% for an Upper A.

This is the starting point for deciding the final figures, which are set at meetings in June and July after marking has been completed.

Details of the 2026 grade boundaries have now been published - you can see the full details for each subject here, external.

David Knox
Reporting from Hawick

In the Borders, Hawick High School's head boy Aleksander got As in all five of his Highers and says he hopes to study medicine.

“It is a great relief," he says.

"I am doing three Advanced Highers now in sixth year and if they go to plan I will hopefully get into Edinburgh University to study medicine.

“I really wasn’t sure I would get As – particularly in Maths as I didn’t like the exam, but it turned out to be my best result.”

Rachel Bell
BBC Scotland reporter

Gulliver Rowntree described his result as a "resounding success".

The 20-year-old received an A for a HND in acting and performance at North East Scotland College (NESCol).

He will now be joining three of his fellow students from NESCol on an acting and performance course at Queen Margaret University, with the hope of a career on stage or screen.

"I got everything I wanted and everything is passed," Gulliver says.

"We all worked hard to get into the course in the first place and now we get to spend the next two years finding new ways to perform and honing our craft, which is such an amazing prospect."

Clare Buchanan
Local democracy service reporter

Image source, LDRS

Pupils from Queen Anne High School in Dunfermline, Fife, nervously gathered to find out their exam results earlier.

Lawrie, 16, was rewarded for his efforts with five As in his Higher exams. He plans to study maths with computer science at Heriot-Watt University after completing sixth year next year.

“I am incredibly happy,” he said. “There's nothing better, is there?

"I definitely thought I would get an A in maths and physics, but a lot of the exams were quite difficult this year so I thought it could go either way.”

Meanwhile Sarah, 18, achieved three As in Advanced Higher maths and music and National Five Mandarin, as well as a B in Advanced Higher physics.

She is off to China for a year to study Mandarin before starting a degree in mechanical engineering.

Despite a "stressful" wait, sixth year pupil Sophie, 17, was "very happy" with her results for Advanced Higher physics, Higher computing and music and National Five chemistry.

She said it was exactly what she needed to study sport science at university.

BBC Bitesize has put together lots of support pages for students receiving their results today.

• Everything you need to know for Scottish exams results day
• What are the Qualifications Scotland grade boundaries for 2026?
• What next if you're staying on at school?
• What next if you want to take a vocational route?
• How to talk to your parents or carers about your results

Rachel Bell
BBC Scotland reporter

Student reactions are coming to us from across Scotland.

Andrii Lutsyk has spent the last year studying an HNC in social sciences with criminology at North East Scotland College.

He achieved an A in his final HNC grade and now plans to study history at the University of Edinburgh after the summer.

"I am quite surprised with my grade," the 18-year-old says.

"I am very happy and very proud of myself and everyone who has been helping me through this long journey."

Andrii arrived in Aberdeen in 2022 as a Ukrainian refugee and hopes to return one day.

"The ideal for me would be to go back to Ukraine and use the experience I gained here to help and rebuild the society and country from the war," he says.

"It's the motivation for me to study and choose the social sciences course."

The number of pupils achieving an A, B or C grade at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher has increased again.

The National 5 qualifications figure rose from 78.4% in 2025 to 79.2% this year.

The rate for Higher increased from 75.9% to 76.7%, and the rate for Advanced Higher rose from 76.7% to 77.6%.

Scotland's Education Secretary Màiri McAllan has congratulated the record number of successful university applicants on "incredibly positive results".

“It is particularly encouraging to see even more students from deprived areas going on to university," she added.

"Scotland has some of the top-ranking universities in the world and our determination to widen access to Higher Education is giving thousands of young people from more deprived areas the opportunity to further their studies."

She said it was "just one route to a positive future" and the government wanted to create a "balanced and inclusive system" with a range of opportunities, like college and apprenticeships.

Selena Jackson
BBC Scotland reporter

Chief qualifications and examinations officer Donna Stewart says today's results are a "testament to learners' hard work and commitment".

More than 148,000 people in Scotland are receiving their results today, including those who sat exams as well as vocational courses such as progression awards, national certificates and Skills for Work.

"The rise in overall attainment at all three National Qualification levels and the increasing attainment in vocational and technical qualifications will rightly be welcomed in classrooms and staffrooms across Scotland," Stewart adds.

“The diversity of qualifications being achieved today is evidence of the appetite for skills-based, practical qualifications along with traditional subjects.”

Katy McCloskey
Senior producer, Scotland education

A record number of young Scots have been accepted into university or college, according to the admissions service.

Figures released today by Ucas show that 17,920 17 and 18-year-olds have gained a place, up from 17,350 last year.

There has also been an increase in the number of young people from the most deprived areas going to university or college – over 130 more on last year, at 2,090.

Overall, about 95% of pupils obtained their first choice at university, the admissions service says, and the total number of Scots accepted to university has also risen by 520.

The Scottish Conservatives have congratulated pupils for their hard work over the last year, as well as teachers for their dedication.

But the party's West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie said the Scottish government was "continuing to fail a generation of our country's pupils".

“Plummeting teacher numbers and spiralling levels of school violence have made this another very difficult year for pupils across Scotland," he said.

“This has created a challenging environment for pupils to get the grades they hoped for, which is why they deserve a huge amount of credit for achieving great results."

He added: “However, it’s clear some pupils are still facing a postcode lottery when it comes to educational achievement. The reality is every child should have the same educational opportunities, regardless of their background or where they live."

Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, Skills Development Scotland

Everyone remembers waiting for their own exam results - and the new education secretary has admitted that today has made her "relive" the nerves of high school all over again.

Màiri McAllan was only appointed to her job in May following the Holyrood election.

In just three months, she's had to study hard to get to grips with her new, sprawling subject.

McAllan praised all the learners as she supported the Results Helpline.

And she highlighted that pass rates for National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers have all increased again.

However, the Advanced Higher rate has still not returned to pre-Covid levels.

The pandemic-era generation is slowly graduating through the education system.

It will still be years before all children affected by Covid restrictions have finished school and their learning experience will be shaped by that disruption even at university level eventually.

It's a significant burden of responsibility for those who design and deliver the education experience.

Skills Development Scotland is operating an advice line on 0808 100 8000. It will be open until 20:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 09:00 to 17:00 on Thursday and Friday.