Provisional Candidate Attainment Summary 2026

Official Statistics in Development

Candidate attainment statistical summary

This document is a summary of entries and attainment as they were when published on results day in August. This reflects current information at a particular point in time (22 July 2026) and the figures are subject to change later in the year. The statistics here are therefore ‘provisional’, and subject to processes including appeals and late amendments.

In this release, entry and attainment figures are presented for 2026 only. The different awarding arrangements in place between 2020 and 2024 mean that it is not possible to compare attainment across these years without full consideration of this contextual information. This is outlined in the background information section.

Terms used and rounding

Provisional

  • ‘Entries’ refers to the number of entries reported in Provisional Attainment Statistics 2026.
  • In some cases, centre type categories are used in these statistics and result from the grouping of some centre types. ‘Education Authority - Secondary School’ and ‘Education Authority - Special School’ are grouped as ‘Education Authority’. ‘Independent - Secondary School’ and ‘Independent - Special School’ are grouped as ‘Independent’. ‘Further Education College’ is reported as ‘FE College’.
  • Values between one and four (inclusive) have been suppressed to protect against the risk of disclosure of personal information. Thereafter, all subsequent values are rounded to the nearest five. Suppressed values are marked up with the shorthand ‘fewer than five’ in this publication.
  • Totals are also rounded, and this may cause the sum of rounded figures to differ from the total reported.

National 5

Entries

  • In 2026 82,730 candidates were entered for National 5 courses.
  • The mean number of National 5 entries per candidate was 4.11. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean entries per candidate with 5.95. Female candidates had a higher mean than males at National 5, at 4.16 entries per female candidate. National 5 candidates at stage 4 had the highest mean number of entries per candidate with 5.60.
  • In 2026 the highest number of entries for National 5 courses by any one candidate was 11 and was recorded by five candidates.
Figure 1: Mean number of entries per candidate for National 5 by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall National 5 mean entries per candidate is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

A to C Attainment

  • The mean number of National 5 A to C grades attained per candidate was 3.25. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean A to C grades attained per candidate with 5.61. Female candidates attained a higher mean than males at National 5, at 3.37 A to C grades per female candidate. National 5 candidates at stage 4 attained the highest mean number of A to C grades per candidate with 4.61.
  • In 2026 the highest number of A to C grades attained for National 5 courses by any one candidate was 11. This was recorded by five candidates.
Figure 2: Mean A to C grade attainment per candidate for National 5 by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall National 5 mean A to C grade attainment per candidate is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

A Attainment

  • The mean number of National 5 A grades attained per candidate was 1.65. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean A grades attained per candidate with 4.29. Female candidates attained a higher mean than males at National 5, at 1.86 A grades per female candidate. National 5 candidates at stage 4 attained the highest mean number of A grades per candidate with 2.44.
  • In 2026 the highest number of A grades attained for National 5 courses by any one candidate was 11. This was recorded by five candidates.
Figure 3: Mean A grade attainment per candidate for National 5 by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall National 5 mean A grade attainment per candidate is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

Table 1: Mean number of entries and attainment per candidate for National 5, with centre, sex and stage breakdowns.
Level Breakdown Mean Entries Mean A to C Attainment Mean A Attainment
National 5 Overall 4.11 3.25 1.65
National 5 Independent 5.95 5.61 4.29
National 5 Education Authority 4.10 3.21 1.57
National 5 FE College 1.08 0.75 0.34
National 5 Female 4.16 3.37 1.86
National 5 Male 4.06 3.14 1.46
National 5 Stage 4 5.60 4.61 2.44
National 5 Stage 5 1.76 1.04 0.28
National 5 Stage 6 1.38 0.78 0.26

Higher

Entries

  • The number of candidates entered for Higher courses in 2026 was 68,675.
  • The mean number of Higher entries per candidate was 3.03. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean entries per candidate with 3.65. Female candidates had a higher mean than males at Higher, at 3.06 entries per female candidate. Higher candidates at stage 5 had the highest mean number of entries per candidate with 3.72.
  • In 2026 the highest number of entries for Higher courses by any one candidate was eight and was recorded by fewer than five candidates.
Figure 4: Mean number of entries per candidate for Higher by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall Higher mean number of entries per candidate is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

A to C Attainment

  • The mean number of Higher A to C grades attained per candidate was 2.32. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean A to C grades attained per candidate with 3.37. Female candidates attained a higher mean than males at Higher, at 2.42 A to C grades per female candidate. Higher candidates at stage 5 attained the highest mean number of A to C grades per candidate with 2.97.
  • In 2026 the highest number of A to C grades attained for Higher courses by any one candidate was eight. This was recorded by fewer than five candidates.
Figure 5: Mean A to C grade attainment per candidate for Higher by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall Higher mean A to C grade per candidate attainment is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

A Attainment

  • The mean number of Higher A grades attained per candidate was 0.94. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean A grades attained per candidate with 2.17. Female candidates attained a higher mean than males at Higher, at 1.04 A grades per female candidate. Higher candidates at stage 5 attained the highest mean number of A grades per candidate with 1.27.
  • In 2026 the highest number of A grades attained for Higher courses by any one candidate was seven. This was recorded by ten candidates.
Figure 6: Mean A grade attainment per candidate for Higher by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall Higher mean A grade attainment per candidate is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

Table 2: Mean number of entries and attainment per candidate for Higher, with centre, sex and stage breakdowns.
Level Breakdown Mean Entries Mean A to C Attainment Mean A Attainment
Higher Overall 3.03 2.32 0.94
Higher Independent 3.65 3.37 2.17
Higher Education Authority 3.01 2.28 0.87
Higher FE College 1.14 0.75 0.30
Higher Female 3.06 2.42 1.04
Higher Male 3.00 2.22 0.82
Higher Stage 4 1.42 1.33 0.88
Higher Stage 5 3.72 2.97 1.27
Higher Stage 6 2.11 1.45 0.45

Advanced Higher

Entries

  • There were 17,315 candidates entered for Advanced Higher courses in 2026.
  • The mean number of Advanced Higher entries per candidate was 1.72. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean entries per candidate with 2.24. Male candidates had a higher mean than females at Advanced Higher, at 1.75 entries per male candidate. Advanced Higher candidates at stage 6 had the highest mean number of entries per candidate with 1.72.
  • In 2026 the highest number of entries for Advanced Higher courses by any one candidate was nine and was recorded by fewer than five candidates.
Figure 7: Mean number of entries per candidate for Advanced Higher by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall Advanced Higher mean number of entries per candidate is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

A to C Attainment

  • The mean number of Advanced Higher A to C grades attained per candidate was 1.33. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean A to C grades attained per candidate with 2.06. Female candidates attained a higher mean than males at Advanced Higher, at 1.36 A to C grades per female candidate. Advanced Higher candidates at stage 6 attained the highest mean number of A to C grades per candidate with 1.32.
  • In 2026 the highest number of A to C grades attained for Advanced Higher courses by any one candidate was nine. This was recorded by fewer than five candidates.
Figure 8: Mean A to C grade attainment per candidate for Advanced Higher by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall Advanced Higher mean A to C grade attainment per candidate is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

A Attainment

  • The mean number of Advanced Higher A grades attained per candidate was 0.53. Of the three centre types, independent centres had the highest mean A grades attained per candidate with 1.22. Male candidates attained a higher mean than females at Advanced Higher, at 0.53 A grades per male candidate. Advanced Higher candidates at stage 4 attained the highest mean number of A grades per candidate with 0.76.
  • In 2026 the highest number of A grades attained for Advanced Higher courses by any one candidate was seven. This was recorded by fewer than five candidates.
Figure 9: Mean A grade attainment per candidate for Advanced Higher by centre type, sex and stage breakdown. The overall Advanced Higher mean A grade attainment per candidate is denoted by the orange vertical line.

 

Table 3: Mean number of entries and attainment per candidate for Advanced Higher, with centre, sex and stage breakdowns.
Level Breakdown Mean Entries Mean A to C Attainment Mean A Attainment
Advanced Higher Overall 1.72 1.33 0.53
Advanced Higher Independent 2.24 2.06 1.22
Advanced Higher Education Authority 1.64 1.23 0.44
Advanced Higher FE College 1.03 0.86 0.58
Advanced Higher Female 1.69 1.36 0.53
Advanced Higher Male 1.75 1.29 0.53
Advanced Higher Stage 4 1.71 1.31 0.76
Advanced Higher Stage 5 1.21 1.13 0.64
Advanced Higher Stage 6 1.72 1.32 0.51

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Date of publication: 18 August 2026

Contact name: Chris Boulter

Contact email: data.analytics@qualifications.gov.scot