SQA Exam Results 2012 – What To Do If You Fail Exams Or Don’t Achieve The Pass You Expected

SQA Exam Results are Announced on 7th August 2012!

There are only a few days to go until the 2012 Scottish Exam Results are received by students in Scotland.  Waiting for important exam results like these are extremely nerve-racking for students and parents alike.  As a teacher of so many exam students, I am also waiting to hear results with a lot of expectations as I know my students were ready and capable of a great pass.

SQA Exam Results Day 2012

Exam results will be arriving by mail on Tuesday, 7th August 2012 for Scottish exam students.  For those who have chosen the option, many students will be receiving their results by an online method.  I remember when my daughter’s exam results came through in the post many years ago and she had just gone abroad on holiday.  I had to wait for over a week until she returned and opened her results!  I was desperate to open the envelope but I managed to control myself and wait patiently.  It was so worth it to see my daughter’s face  when she realised that she had passed in all of her subjects and her hard work had paid off!

What do I do if Exam Results are Not What I expected?

We hope that every student receives the exam result they were wanting but, if for some reason that does not happen, what can parents do to help their children keep their goals on track?

Scottish Exams Appeal

If you have not received the grade that your prelim and course work has expected you to, you can appeal.  Contact your school immediately.  This is advice posted from the official SQA website on who is eligible to appeal and what meets the criteria for appeal:

Before exams take  place, your school or college sends us an estimate grade (the grade they think  you will achieve). To be eligible for an appeal, you need to have achieved an exam grade that is lower than the one your school or college estimated for you. You must also meet these conditions:

• Your estimate grade needs to be higher than a 7 (for Standard grades) or higher than a D (for Intermediates, Highers  and Advanced Highers)
• You must have completed all parts of Course that are externally assessed. External assessments are marked by specialists hired by SQA, whereas internal assessments are marked by your own teachers/lecturers.
• Your school/college needs to send us convincing evidence (eg a prelim) that demonstrates that you previously managed to achieve a better grade than the one you got in the real exam. The evidence must reach us by the closing date.

I have a College/University Place but I didn’t achieve expected exam results.

If you did not achieve the exam results you needed to gain a place at College or University, please try not to panic. There is a course of appeal that you can take and the phone number and email address for Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) are available at http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/32810.html.  Please talk to your lecturers and contact them for advice on how to proceed.

Another Chance?

At the end of the day, if you do not achieve the results you expected, there are other options available to you.  If you are in 4th or 5th year then speak to your Guidance Teacher and teachers.  Could you benefit from some extra tuition to help you prepare in studying techniques?  If you have not achieved  your goals this time then perhaps there is a reason for this.  Speak to your teachers and talk about your future.  How can they help you achieve your dreams?

There is always another option.  Many students take a year out to travel.  Many students are mature students who return to education in later life.  Failing or scoring poorly on an exam is something that most of us do at some point in our lives.  It is important not to dwell on this.  These things happen!.  The important thing is to decide that this is not going to happen again – I am going to make a plan and talk to my teachers, school, college, parents and this time next year I will be back on track!