Help is at hand from Scotland’s national careers service
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A free helpline offering advice, information and support for young people receiving exam results opens this morning. Skills Development Scotland’s (SDS) exam results helpline will be available from exam results day until August 15 and is open to all young people and their families seeking careers advice.
It will be open from 8am until 8pm on 7 and 8 August and from 9am until 5pm from 9th until 15th August. The number to call is 0808 100 8000.
Visiting the Skills Development Contact centre in Glasgow yesterday, the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney met some of the qualified careers advisers who are on standby to answer calls.
He said: “Exam results day may be the culmination of months of hard work but it is important to remember that, whatever the outcome, it is only the beginning of the journey to your chosen career.
“If you get the results you hoped for that is excellent but be assured that if you do better than expected, or you just miss out on the grades you need this time round, there are a variety of options available to you.
“The expert careers advisers at Skills Development Scotland are on hand to handle calls from students and their parents to provide information on all of the options and opportunities available.
“I would like to wish everyone receiving their results the very best of luck and urge anyone who is unsure about their next steps to get in touch with the SDS exam helpline.”
SDS Director of Career Information, Advice and Guidance Operations James Russell said: “Our message for young people and their parents and carers as the results arrive is not to panic.
“Everything might seem overwhelming, but our experienced advisers and online services are there to help and have information on all the options and opportunities young people can consider.
“Lots of people don’t take a direct route to their chosen career – and our advisers are there to help you find your own route to get there.”
Joanna Murphy, Chair of National Parent Forum of Scotland, said: “Speaking from experience, I know that the Exam Results Helpline offers young people and their parents and carers the chance to talk to someone who is impartial, which helps you to step back and take stock at what can be a stressful time.
“Whether you’ve had unexpected results, or just want to talk over your choices, SDS’s advisers can talk you through the wide range of options available to you.
“A calm conversation takes some of the heat out of the emotion of the day, and reminds young people no matter what results they achieve, there is always a way forward.”
Higher passes remain strong despite smaller school cohort.
The number of Higher passes has remained stable over the past year despite a fall of more than 2.4% in the S5 and S6 school roll, new figures from the SQA show.
On the day the national results are released, it was revealed there were 147,000 Higher passes, with a pass rate of 76.8%, compared to 77.0% in 2017.
The results showed a record number of entries for Advanced Higher (24,331) since changes to this qualification were made in 2015/16, with attainment rates remaining high at 80.5%.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney today met students receiving their results at Firrhill High School in Edinburgh.
Mr Swinney said: “My congratulations to the thousands of young people on their hard work and effort leading up to today, and to the teachers and lecturers who have worked tirelessly to prepare them. Results day is a time to celebrate the achievements and dedication of learners right across the country, especially in this the Year of Young People.
“Higher passes remain stable despite a continuing fall in the number of young people on the school roll, while the number of Advanced Highers being taken continues to grow.
“At subject level, we have seen a continued rise in passes in Mathematics at Higher and Advanced Higher, with the National 5 Application of Mathematics pass rate up 11.3 percentage points. Pass rates for English fluctuated in both directions across the different qualification types – up 5.3 percentage points at Advanced Higher level but falling at Higher and National 5 by 1.4 percentage points and 2.4 percentage points respectively.
“I am pleased to see the much greater range of skills-based qualifications is also delivering for students, with the number of awards increasing to 50,305 this year, more than double the number in 2012.
“It is important to remember that we will always see slight variations in pass rates and the results show that we have a robust, credible assessment system in place.
“To address pupil and teacher workload, this is the first year where unit assessments have been removed from National 5, and the overall pass rate remains high at 77.4%.
“It is clear that our young people have performed strongly, against rigorous standards, and are now in an exciting position to decide what they go on to do next. Results day is the culmination of months of hard work and it is important to remember that, whatever the outcome, it is only the beginning of a journey. Anyone who did not receive the results they had hoped for, or who is just unsure about their next steps, should get in touch with the SDS exam helpline for access to expert careers advice.”
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