Debbie Raw is among parents who got in touch with us earlier - before SQA chief Fiona Robertson apologised for the email glitch.

After initially receiving a blank email, her son Mackenzie eventually got his Highers results through at 09:50 - almost two hours late. It was a "shambles", the Edinburgh mum told us.

"My son is fairly laid back but it's frustrating that this level of incompetence is still allowed and no apology or information has been relayed to any student or parent other than a five-line statement on Twitter. Unacceptable."

Meanwhile, when John Mushet's daughter received the blank email this morning, she got upset, fearing she had failed her exams.

Happily, she eventually found out she got the Highers she needed to apply to university. "Now she can enjoy sixth year," John said.

Harry McLean received his exam results while training with the Motherwell FC first team this morning.

The 16-year-old striker has signed a two-year deal to play professional football with the Premiership club and is eagerly awaiting the results of his seven National 5 exams.

Harry is one of eight new youth players to secure a contact with Motherwell, but plans to return to school to study for his Highers.

“Obviously I want to be a professional footballer until I’m 35-40, but if that doesn’t work out, or if I get injured, or I don’t do as well as I’d imagined, I feel like having an education is important,” he said.

Read more here

We've been contacted by many parents and pupils who received blank emails from the SQA this morning. Here's a selection of what they told us:

Andrew Beckett's 16-year-old daughter, Isla, had been expecting to find the results of her Nat 5s in the SQA email she opened this morning - but it was blank.

And she had no access to SMS messages because she is on a cruise returning from Norway.

Andrew, from Perth and Kinross, told us: "I managed to get through to a data controller at SQA who was very helpful. From tears of frustration to tears of joy on one phone call. Very happy with the results."

Meanwhile Laura Tennant, from Angus, told us: "My son received a blank email at 08:23 and there is nobody available to speak to on the school's phone number.

"This is so poorly organised. There isn't even an update on the what to do on the school website, so this is adding more stress to what is already a very stressful time for pupils."

You can share your experience with BBC Scotland here.

In 2023, over 39,000 of the 540,920 certificated grades were appealed.

A total of 3,980 appeal requests resulted in an upgrade while five resulted in a downgrade.

This means the success rate was around 10%.

It's a question many young people in Scotland may be asking if they didn't get the grades they hoped for.

Well, the answer is yes, and every year thousands of pupils do.

Before anyone sits an exam, their school, college or training centre submits estimated grades for every candidate to the SQA.

If you don't think your grade is correct, you should first talk to your school or college.

It will contact the exam board on your behalf and ask for your marks to be reviewed.

You can also submit your own appeal.

Appeals will be subject to a marking review - a check that marks have been added up and submitted correctly and a check that the marking meets the national standard.

An appeal can be prioritised if you have a conditional place at university or college, or are in training or employment that depends on your grade.

The deadline for priority appeals is Tuesday 13 August, or Tuesday 27 August for other appeals.

If you're just joining us, it's been a testing time for the SQA on this exam results day across Scotland.

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
• The SQA say that the majority of pupils who were expecting results did receive them
• The opposite problem happened in Orkney where the council is carrying out an investigation into why some pupils received their results a day early
• A number of pupils in the West Mainland appear to have got their results by letter on Monday
• The authority has asked the SQA and Royal Mail to look into how it happened "as a matter of urgency"
• 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

Let's head down to Earlston High School in the Borders where two pupils were literally jumping for joy this morning.

Millie, on the left, gained 3 As and 2 Bs in her Highers and she hopes to study law.

Ellie gained 5 As in her Highers which is enough to study medicine.

There's been more political reaction to the email issues at the SQA.

As we've been reporting, the exams body has estimated around 7,000 pupils were affected by the delay.

Scottish Labour education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “Young people across Scotland should have woken up this morning to exciting news - instead they have woken up to a new level of SQA chaos.

“It is simply unacceptable that thousands of young people have been forced to undergo real anxiety due to this SQA technical failure."

How the attainment gap has grownpublished at 10:57 British Summer Time 6 August

10:57 BST 6 August

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The 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.

SQA figures released today show an attainment gap of 17.2 percentage points at Higher level for A to C grades. This compares to a figure of 16 last year and 16.9 in 2019.

The Higher pass rate for the Scottish pupils from the most affluent areas was 82%, compared to 65% for those from the poorest backgrounds.

The attainment gap has also increased for National 5s and Advanced Highers.

For National 5s the attainment gap is 17.2 percentage points, up from 15.6 last year and from 17 points in 2019.

For Advanced Highers the attainment gap is at 15.5 percentage points, up from 11.5 last year and 13.2 in 2019.

Results day can be really stressful and it’s important to know that, if you’re finding it tough, you’re not alone.

Here’s some advice from Radio 1 Life Hacks presenter Katie to help you cope with the stress and pressure that comes with results day:

• Be organised - Make a list and think about your next steps, covering all potential outcomes
• Don’t bottle up your feelings - Talk to your mum, your best friend, your dog! Be around people who make you feel calm and comfortable when receiving your results
• Don’t compare yourself with others - Don’t feel pressured to share your results with your classmates straight away, or to post on social media. Remember how hard you have worked for your own results and even if your friends have achieved higher marks, that doesn’t make your achievement any less impressive

Image source, Getty Images

The SQA estimates about 7,000 pupils will have been affected by today’s email delay.

Of the 145,000 who sat exams in Scotland, 5% were signed up for email-only results. SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson says the majority didn't sign up to receive their results by email or text.

The examination authority says it will discuss the issue with its suppliers.

Robertson says their priority was fixing the problem and it was resolved before results were published at 09:30.

She has apologised to everyone affected.

Just to add to the confusion, we're hearing that Orkney Islands Council is carrying out an investigation into why some pupils received their results a day early.

A number of pupils in the West Mainland appear to have been affected and received their results, by letter, on Monday.

The authority has asked the SQA and Royal Mail to look into how it happened "as a matter of urgency".

Kate McLuckie received her results while away at a SportScotland training camp in Largs.

The 17-year-old from Elgin got 6 As in her Highers and says she’s feeling “very relieved”.

She is hoping to study medicine at Edinburgh University but still has her sixth year of school to finish.

“I’m still a bit shaky. It was nerve-wracking waiting. I was just sitting and you’re just waiting for it to come through. But I got what I wanted so that makes it all so much better."

Image source, Getty Images

This morning has not been plain sailing for the SQA exams body, with some pupils receiving blank emails instead of their results.

Scottish Tory education spokesperson Liam Kerr MSP is laying the blame at the door of the Scottish government as well as the SQA.

He says: “This chaotic and shambolic situation is the last thing pupils across Scotland needed on results day.

“Receiving a blank email will have only added to pupils' worries about how they did in their exams.

“Successive SNP education secretaries have dithered and delayed on reforming the SQA for too long. Even then their plans amount to a sticking plaster rather than the widespread changes that Scottish education requires."

Earlier this morning, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth told BBC Scotland News she would bring forward legislation to replace the SQA during the next parliamentary session.

The SQA is now saying the issue has been resolved.

SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson has apologised to learners after a “technical issue” caused a delay to some results.

She said some emails were impacted but text message results were not and the issue has been “resolved swiftly”.

The exams authority posted on social media: "Emails have been reissued and are making their way to learners.

"We apologise for any concern caused to learners who experienced a delay before receiving their MySQA email with their results attached.

"Texts were not impacted and the vast majority of learners who signed up to MySQA received their results as expected."

We've received reports from some secondary school pupils who have been told that they have got a university place, even though they haven't got their results yet.

As we've been reporting, many pupils who signed up for their results to be emailed to them received an email with a blank space where the grades should be.

But some have reported receiving confirmation of their university place regardless.

The SQA earlier said it was working urgently to resolve the issue and pupils can get their results from their schools.

There is lots of support available if you don't get the results you were hoping for.

The SQA's candidate advice line opened at 08:00 and will stay open until 18:00.

Guidance staff at your school will also be on hand to provide help. Many schools will be open over the next few days – check with your own school.

If you have a conditional offer for university or college that you don't meet, you can apply to Ucas' clearing process, external which is used by universities and colleges to fill empty places.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS), , externalthe agency which supports training and skills for work, will also operate an advice line from 6 to 9 August.

If you need help and advice about the next steps in your career or education, or if you don't get the results you hoped for, you can phone the SDS results helpline number on 0808 100 8000.

The SQA has now published its official figures for all exam results given out today.

The number of pupils achieving an A, B or C grade at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher are down across the board.

The Higher A-C attainment has dropped from 77.1% in 2023 to 74.9% this year.

This is also lower than 2022, when the Higher A-C attainment was 78.9%.

The A-C attainment for National 5 exams is also down from 78.8% in 2023 to 77.2%.

But the biggest drop in A-C grades came from Advanced Highers, which fell from 79.8% in 2023 to 75.3%.

The SQA noted that there had been different approaches to awarding in each year since 2019 which do not allow for "meaningful conclusions to be drawn on changes in education performance".

Both Moira and Christopher got their exam results email over 90 minutes late this morning.

The teenagers were waiting to hear how they had done in their National 5s from 08:00.

Moira, 15, from Edinburgh initially received an email but it was blank.

She said: “I found out from a lot of my friends that it happened to them too. I’m a bit annoyed, but what’s done is done.”

Whereas 16-year-old Christopher from Aberdeen didn’t get an email or text initially: “It’s been a nerve-wracking day today and as the day went on it became more and more worrying.”

Both received their results shortly after 09:30 and said they felt “relieved and happy”.

Cameron Falconer from East Kilbride finally received his results more than an hour late.

He sat eight National 5 exams this year. He was worried about physics but says he is "really happy" with all his marks.

Image source, Getty Images

Have you or your children received their exam results today?

How did you do? Did you receive a blank email?

Share your experience of the exam results process with us here.