Following a chaotic Results Day morning in which as many as 7,000 emailed Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) certificates were delayed, parents and pupils are still waiting for a full explanation of what went wrong.

For students who signed up to receive their official SQA results by email, messages should have arrived in their inboxes beginning at 8am on Tuesday morning. According to reports, however, the emails arrived on time, but many did not include exam results.

As of 5pm on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the SQA said that the organisation had not been made aware of any similar issues concerning learners’ results that arrived in the post.

The spokesperson added that conversations between the SQA and the supplier for its email notification services are ongoing and declined to share any further information about the SQA’s investigation or next steps.

A source close to the SQA did, however, indicate that more details maybe available late on Tuesday evening.

Parents and pupils began reporting their concerns and posting screenshots of their conspicuously empty SQA letters at around 8:30am. By 9am, the SQA had posted on X, formerly, Twitter, notifying families that they were “working urgently to resolve” an issue that they believed was affecting learners who had signed up to receive their results by email only.

Reports circulated on social media that some students who had opted to receive results via text message were also experiencing delays. Still, the SQA said that the technical issue did not impact texts and that the “vast majority” of those who signed up for the MySQA digital delivery service were unaffected.

A screenshot of a blank results email received by a pupil.A screenshot of a blank results email received by a pupil. (Image: Twitter)

By 10:41am, the SQA posted again on its social media feed to confirm that the issue had been resolved and apologised “for any inconvenience caused to learners who experienced a delay before receiving their MySQA email with their results attached.”

During a press briefing on Tuesday morning, SQA Chief Executive Fiona Robertson fielded questions about the email delay. She said that the SQA had been in touch with its supplier about the email system and was confident that the issue would not impact certificates delivered by post, which were “entirely separate.”

“There are checks and testing across all of our processes for getting results to learners, and that happens every year and has happened successfully every year.”

A SQA spokesperson added: “On rare occasions, often within rural or remote areas, a small number of learners may receive their results early.

“On the rare occasions when this happens, we seek an explanation from Royal Mail.”

Ms Robertson said that the SQA had resolved the issue before 9:30am – about an hour and a half after the first results were emailed – and that only 5% of learners signed up for the SQA email-only notification system.

Still, that amounts to roughly 7,250 of the almost 145,000 learners who received results on Tuesday. And while not every email arrived blank, it was enough to confuse families on an already stressful day.

Perhaps adding to the confusion caused by the email delays, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), which manages all applications to UK-based universities, proactively contacts learners at 9am on results day.

READ MORE:

A spokesperson for UCAS said that it is standard procedure every year for UCAS to confirm students’ application statuses after the SQA sends out its results at 8am.

Because of the delays this year, however, some students learned about their SQA results through a UCAS message notifying them of whether their results matched the terms of their university offer.

When asked if it was acceptable for students to effectively learn about their results from UCAS, Mrs Robertson reiterated that “the majority of learners” were not affected by the email delays.

 “We have apologised and we have fixed it.”

She said that the SQA's priority on the day was to correct the mistake and release results as quickly as possible. Still, she did not release any details about conversations with the supplier or provide possible explanations for the delay.

A spokesperson for the SQA said that, although this year’s email delay caused more confusion, it is not uncommon for students to hear from UCAS before they receive their official SQA results.

“Learners have always been in a situation where they may receive confirmation from UCAS of outcomes before receiving their results from SQA.

“The majority of learners still choose not to receive results digitally and so rely on the post, which often means they have already been contacted by UCAS before receiving their results.

“UCAS confirms places and not individual results achieved by learners.”

As families took to social media expressing their confusion over the email mishap, political leaders called on the SQA to clarify what caused the delays.

Sue Webber, convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee, expressed her “upset” for teachers, pupils, and families who were caught in the confusion.

"While we understand the issue has now been resolved, our Committee, like the thousands of pupils affected, will be keen to know what happened and ensure that it is not repeated."

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy has called for the SQA and Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth to be brought before the Education Committee and explain the technical delays, fall in pass rates, and widening of the attainment gap.

“It is unacceptable that thousands of young people have been made anxious this morning, worried that they hadn’t made it into the college or university they had worked hard to gain entry to, all due to a technical failure.

“The Education, Children and Young People Committee ought to have the opportunity to ask questions of SQA and the Cabinet Secretary at the earliest convenience.”