'Mix of emotions': Exam season begins for Glasgow pupils
Councillor Christina Cannon, Glasgow's education convener, said: 'I know that the start of this year's exam diet will bring a mix of emotions for our young people, their families and school staff.
'I remember the feeling well. Best wishes to all our young people taking SQA exams this year and those on other learning pathways including vocational routes.'
Councillor Christina Cannon (Image: Colin Mearns/Newsquest)
She added: 'Our schools are very experienced at supporting young people at this anxious time – and young people need to be kind to themselves, take time to relax as well as revise, and they will get through it.'
Around 132,000 learners will sit exams in schools and colleges across Scotland, with two million question papers being distributed to more than 480 centres.
Results will be delivered on Tuesday, August 5 by text, email, post and online via the SQA app.
Candidates will sit exams in subjects ranging from biology and mathematics to physics and accounting.
For those taking subjects such as music, drama, practical cookery and PE, the performance and practical elements of the assessments have been taking place throughout the academic year.
In addition, many learners will be in the final stages of completing National 1 to National 4 qualifications, SQA Awards, Skills for Work courses, National Progression Awards and National Certificates which are continually assessed throughout the year.
In total, more than 147,000 candidates are expected to get their results on August 5.
READ NEXT: The story of why this famous North Glasgow area had a different name for decades
READ NEXT: School near Glasgow leading way on dyslexia support praised by inspectors
Donna Stewart, Scotland's Chief Examining Officer and Director of Qualifications Development at SQA, said: 'I would like to wish the best of luck to everyone throughout Scotland who is about to sit exams and complete assessments in the coming weeks. As you move towards the next step in your education, training, or employment, this is your opportunity to show what you've learned after months of hard work.'
John Booth, SQA Interim Chief Executive, added: 'I want to thank teachers and lecturers across the country for their dedication in supporting learners to get to this important milestone. I'm also grateful to the many thousands of them who work with us to set, invigilate and mark exams and assessments. The teaching profession is at the heart of delivering our qualifications and will have an even stronger role in the work of Qualifications Scotland.'
SQA offers a range of support services, including an exceptional circumstances service for pupils who can't sit an exam or are affected by personal situations; a free, direct appeals service - available after results day for anyone who wants a review of their marked exam; and revision materials, past papers, and the MyStudyPlan app.
Learners can also sign up for a MySQA account to receive results by text and/or email - registration is open at www.mysqa.org.uk and must be completed by 5pm on Wednesday, July 16.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: 'I would like to wish all pupils and students the best of luck with their exams this year. I know how hard they will have been working towards their qualifications during the year to get to this point today.
'This is also a big moment for all the parents, carers, teachers, lecturers and support staff who have done so much to help our young people prepare and I would like to thank them all for their ongoing support and encouragement throughout this period.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
20 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
10 pictures from Glasgow's poignant VJ Day parade
The event was held at the Veterans Monument at Knightswood Cross in the city's north-west on Saturday, August 16. Before the parade began, a short service was held to remember the Glasgow heroes who fought in the 'forgotten war'. (Image: Colin Mearns) (Image: Colin Mearns) (Image: Colin Mearns) Bailie Anne McTaggart represented the Lord Provost and laid a wreath at the Veterans' Memorial Monument. She also presented a commemorative Glasgow 850 plate to the Knightswood veterans' organisation as an acknowledgement and appreciation from the city of the organisation's work and support to city events and causes over the years. READ NEXT: 10 pictures from Glasgow's VJ Day 80th anniversary service (Image: Colin Mearns) (Image: Colin Mearns) (Image: Colin Mearns) The parade then left from Knightswood Cross heading down Great Western Road. Images taken by our photographer show crowds gathered at the monument and people lining the streets showing their support. (Image: Colin Mearns) (Image: Colin Mearns) (Image: Colin Mearns) Pictured are Parachute Regiment veterans, from left- Charlie Brolly, Sam Moynihan and Denis McCormick. Denis's father James McCormick served as a Chindit in Burma with the 1st Btn Cameronians during WW2. (Image: Colin Mearns) READ NEXT: Fight on to save Glasgow railway station 'left to rot' We previously reported that veterans had gathered at Glasgow Cathedral on Friday morning to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, which marked the end of the Second World War. The poignant service was attended by senior military personnel from the Royal Navy, Army, and RAF and reserve units, and representatives from faith groups and organisations across the city.
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Glasgow Times
'Our house split in two' says Clydebank Blitz survivor
Margaret McDougall was only two years old when she was living in the town during World War Two. The Clydebank Blitz was a devastating two-night Luftwaffe bombing raid on the ship-building town on March 13 and 14, 1941. The attack resulted in significant damage to the town and its industrial infrastructure, as well as heavy casualties. Speaking to the Glasgow Times, the 86-year-old told us of the awful night when a bomb came down on top of her home. She said: "We didn't go to a shelter; there were shelters you could go to, but my father was the kind of person who would say, 'I'm not going'. "So we just stayed in the house; however, an incendiary came down and the house split in two, it collapsed, and we fell down. "My father was holding me, and my mother was holding my sister, who had just been born in the previous December; this was in March. The way she was holding her at the most awful time in her life, she let go of her. "We had to be rescued from the rubble." Margaret McDougall, 86, was a toddler during the Clydebank Blitz. (Image: Newsquest) One of the items on display at the new museum in Clydebank Library is a collection of Singer's sewing machines, which Margaret finds delightful, given that she sewed her own wedding dress with one. Margaret on her wedding day, in the dress she sewed for her and her sister using a Singer sewing machine. (Image: Newsquest) Opening of Clydebank Museum. (Image: Newsquest) The Clydebank Museum was officially opened on Friday, August 15, the anniversary of VJ Day, by local councillors. Sam Gibson, 83, was also very young during the Blitz, and says most stories he knows have been passed down from his family. He said: "I remember being in the house and getting carried out when there was an air raid going on. "My mother used to hang a bag in the hall with all the papers, insurance and all the important documents. The bag was the first thing that was taken, and then it was me and my three sisters. "I remember being in the shelter and a warden or somebody was coming, and I thought he was a German and I was saying, 'they are coming.'" Sam Gibson, 83, was very young at the time of the Clydebank Blitz. (Image: Newsquest) William Henderson, interim team leader of West Dunbartonshire Arts and Heritage. (Image: Newsquest) William Henderson, interim team leader of West Dunbartonshire Arts and Heritage, says the new museum can give residents pride in their town. He said: "There has never been a fixed exhibition that tells the story of Clydebank in one place. So the intention with this is to give an overview of the town and its very rich history and heritage. "People need to know about this to have a sense of place and to feel that pride that they should have in the heritage of the area. "It was a hugely skilled and productive area. World-leading, world-renowned and people need to be reminded of that. I think the museum display certainly does that, and it's a celebration." Councillor William Rooney, convener of Corporate Services, said: 'We're proud to officially open Clydebank Museum, and it is all the more poignant that we are also marking the anniversary of VJ Day, which signalled the end of World War II, today. 'The Clydebank Blitz has shaped this town, and the museum provides a fantastic opportunity and insight into the strength and spirit of its people in the aftermath, so it's fitting that we are marking both occasions today. 'This is an absolutely fantastic space which has something of interest for everyone — whether you're looking to trace your family history, explore the town's industrial roots, or simply enjoy learning more about the place we call home. It's an important part of how we preserve our shared story for future generations.'
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
I retook a GCSE maths test 10 years on - here's how I fared
An important thing to note since I took my GCSEs is that the grading system has changed, going from A* - G to 9 - 1, in 2017. With this, (at least I think anyway), the tests have gotten harder. The grade changes took place in 2017 (Image: Newsquest) Not to brag or anything, but I did get an A* in my GCSE maths exam, but can this be replicated 10 years on with no revision? Well, here is my attempt at resitting a GCSE maths exam, and finding out just how much I remember from my time at secondary school. How did I get on resitting a GCSE maths exam 10 years later? Edexcel was my exam board back in the day, god, that makes me sound old, but this meant that I went with the same when choosing a past paper. There are plenty of past papers to choose from online, which is useful for current students revising ahead of their own exams. I decided to go with the higher paper (as that is what I sat) from last year, May 2024. The paper is an hour and 30 minutes long, so I gave myself that amount of time to see how far I could get... Spoiler: it didn't matter. Can I resit my GCSEs or A Levels? And through the lack of having a proper calculator, I opted for a non-calculator exam. So there we were, spending my Saturday afternoon sitting a GCSE maths exam, is there a better way to use your time? The timer had started, and I felt as ready as I ever would be. Turning to question one, it reads as follows: Here are the first four terms of an arithmetic sequence. 1 5 9 13 Find an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term of this sequence. Easy enough, work out the difference between each number, which in this case is 4, and then figure out the difference between that number and the first in the sequence, which is -3. Question 1 and my workings out (Image: Newsquest) 4n - 3 is the answer, and we're feeling good. Now I won't go through every question, but you can view the full paper here. Questions that followed included topics such as fractions, area, line graphs, ratio, simultaneous equations and algebra. Up until question 14, I felt good, and was confident I'd done ok, and then it all went downhill. From working out the sector of a circle in pi and rationalising denominators, to volume and more complex algebraic equations, I was struggling. An algebra question I could not answer (Image: Newsquest) And I'm not afraid to admit it, from question 14 to 23, which was the final one, you could count the marks I achieved on one hand... What grade did I get on my GCSE maths exam retake? So, after totalling up all my marks, you may be shocked to find out that I would've actually gotten an A grade. I got 49/80 overall, which is a 7 in the current grading system. There were three higher papers in 2024, one non-calculator and two calculator, of which I took the first one. I divided each mark by three to get an average for each paper. The grade boundaries for the 2024 Edexcel higher papers are as follows: Max mark - 240 9 - 197 (66 marks per paper) 8 - 167 (56 marks per paper) 7 - 137 (46 marks per paper) 6 - 105 (35 marks per paper) 5 - 73 (24 marks per paper) 4 - 42 (14 marks per paper) 3 - 26 (9 marks per paper) Overall, I was delighted with how I got on, and I reckon, dare I say it, an A* was not a fluke and could be replicated with a bit of revision. I managed to remember a fair amount and have educated guesses on others, which in the end helped me still come out with a great result. Recommended reading: But that was not the only thing I came away with from this experience, with the last third of the paper giving me nothing but a headache. So it is something I don't plan on repeating anytime soon... For all of you getting your GCSE results this week, good luck!
