Higher results day 2026: what happens, and what to do next

Results day is Tuesday 4 August 2026. Certificates are issued by Qualifications Scotland, the body that replaced the SQA in February 2026.

01How you get your results

If you signed up for MySQA or its Qualifications Scotland successor before the deadline, your results arrive by text and email on the morning of results day. Everyone else gets a paper certificate in the post, which usually lands the same day or the day after.

Your certificate lists each course, the grade band from A to D, and No Award where a course was not passed. Each Higher grade also carries UCAS tariff points if you are applying to university.

02If Higher Biology went the way you wanted

Nothing to do except confirm your university place if you have one. UCAS Track updates on results day morning, and firm choices are usually confirmed automatically once your grades are received.

03If it did not

Three routes, and they are not mutually exclusive.

First, talk to your school before you do anything else. Your school can tell you what your estimate was, whether there is a marking issue worth raising, and what your realistic options are for S6.

Second, consider an appeal. The appeals window is short, closing Tuesday 11 August 2026, and appeals are submitted by your school, not by you directly. Grades can go down as well as up.

Third, consider a resit. A Higher Biology resit in S6 alongside Advanced Higher study is common and completely normal, and you keep the better of the two grades on your certificate.

04The honest bit about a B

A B in Higher Biology is a good grade, and it also closes some doors, particularly for medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses that ask for AAAAA or specific subject minimums. If that is you, decide in August, not October. The students who turn a B into an A are almost always the ones who started in the first fortnight after results day.

05Where to start again

Work out where the marks actually went before you revise anything. Most students who get a B are not short on biology knowledge, they are short on exam technique. The free question-by-question walkthroughs on this site are built for exactly that diagnosis.