Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has apologised to thousands of Scots students who received blank emails instead of exam results on Wednesday morning.
Around 7,000 pupils were affected by the technical glitch, which was resolved by 10am.
One of those was 17-year-old Jaydan Wallace from Freuchie.
Fortunately, the High School of Dundee pupil managed to find his results another way.
He said: “I got an email but it was blank.
“My text message came through first though, so I wasn’t too worried about it.
“But I would have been scared if I got the email first but didn’t get the text.”
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Ms Gilruth insists only a small proportion of the 145,000 teenagers sitting National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers had a problem accessing their grades.
She added, however: “That doesn’t detract from how stressful that must have been for them.
“As education secretary, I would apologise for that.
“I’m glad it’s been resolved but it shouldn’t have happened.”
Pass rates fell to pre-Covid levels
Ms Gilruth was at her former school, Madras College in St Andrews, to speak to pupils who received their results on Tuesday.
As well as by email, grades were sent via text message, schools and by post.
Across Scotland, the higher pass rate fell by two per cent, returning to pre-Covid levels.
Pass rates have also dropped for National 5 and advanced higher exams.
And the attainment gap, between those from the richest and poorest parts of Scotland, has increased.
But Ms Gilruth congratulated all those who succeeded in their chosen subjects and says there is much to celebrate.
“We’ve seen an increase in relation to vocational qualifications – an increase of 25% compared to last year so it’s a record year.
“That shows us we’re seeing far more different pathways open to our young people that didn’t exist, certainly when I was at school, and that’s to be welcomed.”
‘Don’t panic’
The educational secretary says it is important to reflect on the variants in attainment this year.
“We’ve seen decreases in national 5 and advanced higher level,” she said.
“Part of that is because during lockdown we introduced changes to assessment practices and that’s well understood.
“This year though, we went back to the assessment practices we used before the lockdown.”
For anyone who did not achieve their hoped-for marks, Ms Gilruth’s advice is: “Try not to panic.
“Speak to the SDS results helpline on 0808 100 8000 or, if you’re able to contact your school, speak to a member of teaching staff who are there to support you.”
Conversation