We're drawing this live page to a close now, so here's one last reminder of the headlines on Scottish exam results day:

• The chief executive of the SQA has apologised to pupils after a “technical issue” caused a delay to some results sent by email
• Dozens of parents and pupils voiced frustration with the SQA about blank emails
• It's estimated that around 7,000 pupils were affected
• The exams authority posted on social media that text messages weren't impacted and the glitch had been resolved

• Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth also apologised for the "undue stress" the delays caused

• The number of pupils achieving an A, B or C grade at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher was down across the board
• The education secretary said the results were "not good enough"
• The attainment gap, between the exam results of those from the richest and poorest parts of Scotland, has increased when compared to last year and to pre-pandemic levels
• In Orkney, the council is carrying out an investigation into why some pupils received their results a day early
• A record number of Scottish students secured places at a Scottish university this year
• The number of students from most the deprived areas to get a uni place also hits a new high

The live page coverage today was edited by Paul McLaren and the writers were Craig Hutchison, Debbie Jackson, Katy Scott, Megan Bonar, Kayleigh Harvey, Hope Webb and Robbie Boyle.

Thanks for joining us. Goodbye for now.

Pupils studying Latin in Scotland achieved a 100% pass rate for the subject at National 5 level.

The SQA revealed all 381 students who sat the exam in 2024 passed, in what it described as a "a truly historic achievement".

Robert Quinn, the head of English, languages and business for the exam body, said: "It's rare for a subject to have 100% attainment (A-C pass rate) so this year's National 5 Latin results are testament to the skills of Scotland's learners and the high quality of teaching that supports them."

A record number of students from deprived areas are to benefit from "life-changing" university education, the head of the sector's admissions body says.

After exam results were issued to students across Scotland, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) confirmed 1,950 youngsters aged 17 and 18 from the poorest places have been accepted on to courses.

That's up by 9% from last year's total of 1,790, and represents a 46% rise from 1,340 students from such a background being given a place in 2019.

Image source, PA

Ucas calculated that students from the most advantaged areas are now 2.84 times more likely to enter higher education than those from the least advantaged areas - with is down slightly from 2.86 in 2023.

Overall, a total of 31,970 Scottish students of all ages have a place at university for next year - up from 30,050 in 2023 and 28,750 in 2019.

Louise Davidson-Clyne is on the path to her dream of becoming a photographer but just last year she didn't know where to turn after getting her exam results. The former West Calder high school pupil struggled with her studies because of her dyslexia.

"I found school hard and didn't think I would do well in my exams. I just didn't know where to go next with the qualifications I had."

Louise called the Skills Development Scotland helpline to find out more about her options. She realised she could apply for a photography course at Edinburgh College, which she was later accepted on to.

"The experience made me realise that you just need to find your pathway and try as best as you can to pursue it, as there will always be support available to help get you where you want to be.

"I'm really enjoying my course and planning to progress on to the next level. My ambition is to get in to fashion photography and see my work in Vogue."

The Skills Development Helpline number is 0808 100 8000. Opening times are: Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 August, 8am to 8pm and Thursday 8 and Friday 9 August, 9am to 5pm.

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat reporter at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome

Nail-biting waits for results are a bit too familiar for Team Scotland cyclists Elliot Speedie, Brodie Duncan and Sarah Johnson right now.

After last night’s gold medal and world record for Team GB in the team sprint the trio, who hope to see themselves on the podium one day, also had to wait for their exam results.

Chatting at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, Elliot and Sarah got their results via text while Brodie’s waiting for a letter.

“I’ve got one A which I’ll take,” says Elliot.

Sarah says she got an unconditional offer – “so I’m pretty happy with that”.

Brodie’s hopeful his hard work will pay off when the post arrives.

“Quite a lot of sacrifices had to be made” to balance studying with his cycling ambitions, he says.

“Whether that’s time with friends, time on the PlayStation, but it’ll all be worth it.”

BBC Scotland News has been hearing from some Scottish musicians and sports people about their exam results stories.

Iona Fyfe is one of Scotland’s best-known folksingers. She’s travelled the world performing and in 2021 she became the first singer to win Musician of the Year at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards.

From early on Iona was dedicated to pursuing a career in music and said she “spent more time practicing piano than studying for biology”.

Once she finished her exams in fifth year she decided to apply for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, in Glasgow, and managed to get a place as the requirements were “mostly based on practical auditions”.

“It was odd because all my childhood friends were still in 6th year doing all the fun things you get to do. I missed school prom because I had my first tour in Italy in 2016.

“Everyone is a slightly different type of learner. The ability to answer questions on a piece of paper on any given day is so arbitrary. If you have a passion that you put your heart into, success will come.”

Here are the latest headlines:

• The chief executive of the SQA has apologised to pupils after a “technical issue” caused a delay to some results sent by email
• It's estimated that around 7,000 pupils were affected
• The exams authority posted on social media that text messages weren't impacted and the glitch had been resolved

• Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth also apologised for the "undue stress" the delays caused
• Gilruth said exam results returning to pre-pandemic levels was not good enough

Image source, PA

• The attainment gap, between the exam results of those from the richest and poorest parts of Scotland, has increased when compared to last year and to pre-pandemic levels
• In Orkney, the council is carrying out an investigation into why some pupils received their results a day early
• A record number of Scottish students secured places at a Scottish university this year
• The number of students from most the deprived areas to get a uni place also hits a new high

Exam results are not the end of the story, advises a winner of Scottish Chef of the Year.

Tony Singh surprised himself by scooping a prize for Home Economics at school and went on to train classically as a chef at college in Edinburgh.

"If you've not done well in exams, don't worry you can resit them or go on an take on practical experiences and challenges," he said.

He points out he left school when he was 16, as "school wasn't for me" and he points out he loved every minute of his career choices.

Image source, PA

There's more political reaction to Scotland's exam results, where the attainment gap widened and pass rates in Highers, Advanced Highers and National 5s all fell.

And then of course there was the SQA glitch resulting in blank e-mails being sent to around 7,000 pupils.

Scottish Greens education spokesperson Ross Greer says: “Results day is always stressful for pupils, teachers and parents and carers, and this year’s email error has only made that worse.

“This must be one of the last years where Scotland’s young people are put through a Victorian-era system of high-stakes end of term exams.

"We now have clear evidence that this makes the attainment gap worse than it would be under more modern assessment methods.

“The Scottish Greens have long campaigned for a move away from this exams system and towards greater use of ongoing assessment throughout the year. "

Image source, PA

More now from the education secretary who has told BBC Scotland she is sorry for the "undue stress" caused to thousands of pupils who received blank emails instead of their exam results.

The SQA says it has now fixed the "technical issue" which impacted around 7,000 pupils who faced a further anxious wait for their grades this morning.

Jenny Gilruth says she's addressed this with the SQA and will be speaking to the chief examiner this afternoon.

"As far as I understand it a small proportion of candidates have been affected, but I absolutely recognise the undue stress this must have caused them."

The issue was resolved before 10am says the minister, which means these pupils will now have their exam results.

Fraser Malcolm, 28, originally of Falkirk, plays for Caledonia Gladiators basketball team in East Kilbride but initially trained to be a teacher after achieving 5 Bs and a C in his Highers at Larbert High School.

The 6ft 6 sportsman spent a year in Iceland, before moving to university in South Dakota in the US to pursue a teaching degree as well as a basketball scholarship.

He returned to work part-time as a PE teacher at Gryffe High school in Renfrewshire, before pausing that career last year to focus on his basketball career.

“At school I was so into basketball that I could have been better at managing my study time outside of that. I’d advise any aspiring athletes that they should still find time for their studies.

“If you want a full-time career in sport, it’s so important to have those exam results to fall back on depending on how your dreams play out.

“I loved being a teacher and had some great colleagues and pupils, and it was great to do both jobs, but I knew I had to grab the opportunity to play basketball full-time when the chance came up.

“You’ve got to put your best foot forward in exams but there’s so many different ways to get to where you want to go to in your career. It’s definitely not the end of the world if things don’t work out.”

There's lots of support for pupils and parents in Scotland, not least from our colleagues at BBC Bitesize.

They have lots of useful guides to digest:

• Your guide to Nationals results day2024
• Top 3 tips for getting through GCSEor Nationals results day
• Teachers' top tips for GCSE orNationals results day
• Nationals results day: What next ifyou're staying on at school?
• Nationals results day: What next ifyou want to take a vocational route?

Now for those students who maybe didn't get the grades they were hoping for, there is advice and support out there as we've been highlighting on today's live page.

Ruth Swan is associate director of Global Prospect Experience & UK student recruitment at Heriot-Watt University and she tells Lunchtime Live today is a very emotional day for everyone involved.

She says her department has been inundated with hundreds of calls from some pupils who did not get what they wanted and are looking for other routes to university.

Going for a different course or going to college can be the best route for some, she adds.

Some pupils will have done better than they thought they would and this can be an opportunity for them to change their mind using clearing.

Swan says: "We know it can be a really overwhelming and stressful day and there's that expectation you have to move quite quickly as well. It is a stressful time for them."

Attainment gap is going in the wrong directionpublished at 13:13 British Summer Time 6 August

13:13 BST 6 August

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC Scotland political correspondent

These exam results won’t make great reading for the Scottish government.

For a start, grades are down compared with last year. They're back in line with pre-pandemic levels.

But it's the attainment gap figures that will be particularly uncomfortable.

This is the difference in grades between pupils from the richest and poorest areas. Simply put, those from wealthier backgrounds are statistically more likely to get better results.

Scottish ministers have said they're determined to substantially eliminate this gap by 2026. But today's figures show the gap has grown across all levels of exams.

More than that, the numbers are worse than they were before the pandemic.

The SQA cautions against comparing years due to differences in how grades are awarded. But it's hard to see how else we can judge progress in this area.

On a key test for the Scottish government, the figures are heading in the wrong direction. And we can expect opposition parties to spend a lot of airtime today focusing on this issue.

Image source, Getty Images

The cabinet secretary for education says exam results returning to pre-pandemic levels is “not good enough”.

Jenny Gilruth has told BBC Scotland News she will now call meetings with education chiefs to discuss the “need for improvement across the country”.

She says it is her responsibility to ensure pupils get the right type of support and challenges from their exams.

Getting your results can be a stressful and difficult process and it's important to look after your mental health.

There's lots of information online about how to relax and support one another, as well as organisations you can talk to:

• Young Scot – Information and Opportunities for Young People, external
• See Me - End Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination, external

If you're just joining us, the early part of Scotland's exam results day has been dominated by pupils initially receiving blank results emails (see an example below).

Alison Gordon, from Inverness, was among the first to get in touch to tell us her daughter had been affected.

"Anticipation is killing us and now we have to wait til much later in the day for the postman to arrive," she said. "On such an important day of their lives, this has been poor from the SQA."

Alison later told us the results finally came through at 10:30 - two-and-a-half hours late.

"Thankfully she got the grades she was hoping for, but this is her first experience of exam results and for us too... and created a much more intense feeling than was needed.

"A huge sigh of relief when the email finally landed. We can now take her out and celebrate!"

Eoin Berry, from Perthshire, managed to get his daughter's results from her school when the blank email arrived.

"The SQA should be ashamed of their incompetence. What an utter shambles," he said.

The largest teachers' union in Scotland is warning today's results show the poverty-related attainment gap must be tackled urgently.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley says the results are a "testament to the resilience" of students but the widening of the gap is worrying.

"At a time when student need is growing, staffing levels and resources for schools and colleges are shrinking. This needs to be turned around," she adds.

She is calling for additional Scottish government investment to tackle "achievement parity".

Image source, Getty Images

Hundreds of thousands of students across the UK are hoping to secure a place at university in September.

Getting a degree is expensive, but does uni pay for itself through higher future earnings?

From student loans to the cost of accommodation, find out more here.

Savani only arrived in Aberdeen from Sri Lanka last January but received five As in her Higher exams.

The St Machar Academy pupil says: "It's been a new curriculum to get used to but I've had so much help from people.

"It's cold and gloomy but I'm used to it now. It was a huge culture difference and I had to skip a year and a half of education due to the different system but the school were helpful."

Caleb goes to Cults Academy in Aberdeen and achieved three As and two Bs in his exams.

However, he wanted all As to go on and study medicine at university.

He says: "I'll see what I can do and maybe pick up one or two things. I'll see where life takes me."

Kirsty isn't sure on her next steps. She's been doing a foundation apprenticeship and runs a cake business, while studying for her Highers.

She says: "I'm taking on the business apprenticeship next year but I'm not sure if I want to take on the cakes and have a shop, or get myself a job.

"I'm happy with my three Bs and a C in my school exams. Running a business, taking orders and doing an apprenticeship is a nice balance."