Pupils and parents have been left in limbo after a fault hit the distribution of exam results. 

Anxious teenagers across Scotland were due to receive their results today for National, Higher and Advanced Higher exams.

Many received blank emails which should have contained pupils' grades. 

The emails were sent out to pupils who have signed up for a MySQA account, but while some have got their results, others have come through empty.

The SQA helpline has told some parents there have been a few inquiries about empty emails and that the authority is looking into it.

UCAS has confirmed that some pupils have received information about their University admission applications - without knowing what their results were. 

An SQA spokesperson said the issue had now been resolved. 

The spokesperson said: “We have resolved a technical issue that impacted candidates who signed up to receive their results by email only using the MySQA service. 

"Texts were not impacted and the vast majority of learners who signed up to MySQA received their results as expected.

"We apologise for any concern caused to learners who experienced a delay before receiving their MySQA email with their results attached."

The SQA helpline has said results should be coming through within the next half hour for those who haven’t had them yet.

Pupils have been waiting for their results today (stock pic)Pupils have been waiting for their results today (stock pic) (Image: Jeff J Mitchell)

Herald Education correspondent James McEnaney, who was alerted to the situation early this morning, said the glitch was "another shambles" for the SQA, which was at one point due to be abolished by the Scottish Government. 

He said: "All over the country, young people have woken up excited and anxious to find out their exam results, but for many of them things have started off in just about the worst possible way.

"We don’t know why yet, but it seems that lots and lots of lots of students have received emails with a blank space where their results should be. Some people have also received blank texts. Some people haven’t received texts at all.

"This doesn’t seem to be a regional issue, because I’ve been told that students in the same house have had different experiences, with one receiving their results in an email while another gets the blank version."

READ MORE: Resources for students' next steps on Results Day 2024

READ MORE: Free helpline offers support on SQA exam results day

Our correspondent added: "This looks very much like an issue with the mail-merging function used to send out these sort of mass communications, but it is absolutely humiliating for the SQA.

"This, don’t forget, is the organisation that was so unreliable, and that had so entirely lost the confidence of teachers and students, that the SNP decided it was going to be abolished.

"They have since rowed back from that position, so now we’re basically expecting a rebrand, but yet another results day scandal will raise major questions about the competence of an organisation that is charged with overseeing not just an important day in the education calendar, but one of the most stressful days in the young lives of Scotland’s students."

Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for education Liam Kerr MSP said: “This chaotic and shambolic situation is the last thing pupils across Scotland needed on results day.

“Receiving a blank email will have only added to pupils worries about how they did in their exams.

“Successive SNP education secretaries have dithered and delayed on reforming the SQA for too long. Even then their plans amount to a sticking plaster rather than the widespread changes that Scottish education requires.

“Those in charge at the SQA must urgently be upfront as to why many students have failed to receive their results as they expected to and ensure these errors are rectified as soon as possible for all those affected.”

Scottish Labour Education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “Young people across Scotland should have woken up this morning to exciting news - instead they have woken up to a new level of SQA chaos. 

“It is simply unacceptable that thousands of young people have been forced to undergo real anxiety due to this SQA technical failure."

She added: “The results speak for themselves - the poverty-related attainment gap is at its highest ever level, while attainment has also fallen for all.

 "Higher pass rates are equal to the lowest level on record and pass rates are well below the pre-pandemic standard. 

 “Despite the best efforts of teachers, staff and Scotland’s young people, they are being forced to pay the price of 17 years of SNP failure and SQA chaos."

 

 “Young people in Scotland have been badly let down and the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary cannot avoid responsibility.”