More than 130,000 Scottish students have received their exam results for 2026. The number of pupils achieving an A, B or C grade at National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher qualifications has seen a slight increase compared to the previous year.
For National 5 qualifications, the pass rate rose from 78.4% in 2025 to 79.2% this year. Higher pass rates increased from 75.9% to 76.7%, and Advanced Higher rates went up from 76.7% to 77.6%.
The attainment gap, which measures the difference in grades between students from the least and most deprived areas, closed slightly but remains wide. At National 5, the gap is 15.6 percentage points, down from 16.4. For Higher, it is 15.9 percentage points, a decrease from 16.8 last year, and at Advanced Higher, the gap is 12.1, down from 13.3.
Council-level data shows East Renfrewshire Council had the highest proportion of A to C passes at National 5, at 90.6%. Private schools also continue to outperform state schools, with over 90% of entries at private schools achieving A to C grades across all levels, while state schools remained below 80%. Students with additional support needs (ASN) continue to lag behind, with an attainment gap of 8.9 percentage points at National 5 level compared to those without ASN.