Image source, PA Media
Image caption,Pupils at Broughton High School in Edinburgh received their 2026 Qualifications Scotland grades
ByAimee Stanton
BBC Scotland News
1. Pass rates increased from last year
The number of pupils achieving an A, B or C grade at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher has increased slightly on last year.
The figure for the National 5 qualifications, taken by the majority of pupils at 15 or 16, rose from a 78.4% pass rate 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%.
2. The attainment gap closes but remains wide
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 National 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.
This year's stats also show that female students have achieved higher pass rates at all levels than their male counterparts.
At National 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.
3. East Renfrewshire is the best performing council area
Council-level data also shows a geographical split in attainment levels.
The figures show East Renfrewshire Council had the highest proportion of A to C passes at National 5, at 90.6%.
Other council areas above 80% were: East Dunbartonshire (86.2%), South Ayrshire (83.5%), Stirling (82.6%), Aberdeenshire (80.8%), South Lanarkshire (80.6%), West Dunbartonshire (80.3%) and Perth and Kinross (80.2%).
Qualifications Scotland data also shows the attainment gap between rural and urban classification.
Large Urban Areas had the highest proportion of student attaining grades A to C at National 5 levels with 80.3%, while Remote Small Towns had the lowest at 71.6%.
It is the same trend for Highers but with a smaller gap. The stats showed that 77.8% of students in Large Urban Areas achieved grades A to C while for Remote Small Towns it was just 72.2%.
Find and compare your council using the interactive table below.
4. Private schools outperform state
Independents (private schools) also continue to outperform those at education authorities (state schools), with the figures showing a clear gap in pass rates at all levels.
More than 90% of entries at private schools achieved grades A to C this year at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level, while state schools remain below 80%.
5. ASN students remain behind
Students with an additional support need (ASN) also continue to lag behind those without.
The latest figures show the attainment gap at National 5 level between those with and without ASN was 8.9 percentage points in 2026.
It's a similar picture at Higher level with the ASN attainment gap being 6.2 percentage points.
However, the gap narrows at Advanced Higher level with a 1.2 percentage point difference between those with and without ASN.
Children with ASN include those who have a Co-ordinated Support Plan, Individualised Education Programme or child's plan, and are assessed or declared disabled, or as having another support need.
