Scottish exam pass rates rise - here are the areas with the best results
Pupils at Gryffe High SchoolCaption
East Renfrewshire recorded Scotland’s highest pass rate at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher, while Stirling and Orkney were among the strongest-performing areas across all three levels.
Pass rates rose across Scotland in 2026, with pupils recording improved results at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
The national A–C pass rate increased to 79.2% at National 5, up from 78.4% last year. Higher passes rose from 75.9% to 76.7%, while Advanced Higher increased from 76.7% to 77.6%.
A record 269,115 National 5 entries received an A, B or C grade.
The national figures conceal considerable geographical differences. Analysis of the provisional education-authority tables published by Qualifications Scotland shows that some parts of the country were more than 10 percentage points ahead of the Scottish average.
East Renfrewshire produced the strongest results at every level.
Its National 5 A–C pass rate reached 90.6%, compared with 79.2% across Scotland. The authority also recorded the country’s highest Higher pass rate at 87.1% and the highest Advanced Higher rate at 81.2%.
The area was also ahead when only the top grades were counted. A grades accounted for 60.5% of its National 5 entries, 46.2% of Higher entries and 33.8% at Advanced Higher.
East Dunbartonshire was the nearest challenger at the two largest qualification levels. It ranked second at National 5 with an A-C pass rate of 86.2% and second at Higher with 82.9%.
More than half of its National 5 entries - 53.5% - received an A. Its Higher A-grade rate was 40.8%, also second only to East Renfrewshire.
South Ayrshire recorded Scotland’s third-highest National 5 pass rate at 83.5%. That represented an increase of 3.2 percentage points from 2025, making it one of the most notable improvements among the leading authorities.
Stirling followed with a National 5 pass rate of 82.6%. It was also fourth for Highers at 81.1% and second for Advanced Highers at 79.8%.
That made Stirling one of the most consistent performers in Scotland. It also had the third-highest proportion of A grades at National 5 and Higher and was only narrowly behind East Renfrewshire for Advanced Higher A grades.
Orkney also appeared near the top at every level.
Its National 5 pass rate was 81.5%, placing it fifth in Scotland. At Higher, Orkney climbed to third with 81.8%, an increase of 6.4 percentage points from the previous year. Its Advanced Higher pass rate was 79.3%, again above the national average.
Smaller island authorities have fewer exam entries, meaning their annual percentages can move more sharply than those in large mainland councils. Orkney nevertheless performed above the Scottish average at all three levels.
Aberdeenshire was another strong National 5 performer. Its pass rate of 80.8% placed it sixth, based on more than 15,000 entries.
South Lanarkshire followed at 80.6%, West Dunbartonshire at 80.3% and Perth and Kinross at 80.2%. They were the other council areas to record National 5 pass rates above 80%.
The picture changed slightly at Higher. After East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, Orkney and Stirling, the fifth-highest pass rate was recorded by Perth and Kinross at 80.3%. This was 5.2 percentage points higher than in 2025.
Edinburgh was sixth for Highers at 79.5%, based on 16,520 entries. The capital also performed strongly at the top end, with 36.6% of Higher entries receiving an A.
Edinburgh’s strongest ranking came at Advanced Higher. Its A–C pass rate of 79.4% placed it third in Scotland, behind East Renfrewshire and Stirling.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and Orkney both recorded Advanced Higher pass rates of 79.3%, while Falkirk followed at 79.2%.
The Western Isles result was based on 140 Advanced Higher entries and Orkney’s on 110. Edinburgh, by comparison, had almost 3,000 entries. The figures are directly comparable as pass rates, but the difference in cohort size should be considered when assessing small movements between years.
Taken across all three qualifications, East Renfrewshire was the clear national leader. Stirling and Orkney were the other authorities to finish among the top five at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
The results also show that the strongest areas were not confined to one part of Scotland. High pass rates were recorded in affluent suburban authorities, rural council areas, island communities and the capital.
There remains, however, a strong relationship between educational results and deprivation.
Nationally, the A–C pass-rate gap between entries from the least and most deprived areas was 15.6 percentage points at National 5 and 15.9 points at Higher. At Advanced Higher it was 12.1 points.
Each gap narrowed from 2025, but the figures show that Scotland’s geographical differences cannot be considered separately from the wider poverty-related attainment gap.
The rankings are based on the proportion of exam entries receiving an A, B or C result.
Pupils at Gryffe High SchoolCaption
East Renfrewshire recorded Scotland’s highest pass rate at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher, while Stirling and Orkney were among the strongest-performing areas across all three levels.
Pass rates rose across Scotland in 2026, with pupils recording improved results at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
The national A–C pass rate increased to 79.2% at National 5, up from 78.4% last year. Higher passes rose from 75.9% to 76.7%, while Advanced Higher increased from 76.7% to 77.6%.
A record 269,115 National 5 entries received an A, B or C grade.
The national figures conceal considerable geographical differences. Analysis of the provisional education-authority tables published by Qualifications Scotland shows that some parts of the country were more than 10 percentage points ahead of the Scottish average.
East Renfrewshire produced the strongest results at every level.
Its National 5 A–C pass rate reached 90.6%, compared with 79.2% across Scotland. The authority also recorded the country’s highest Higher pass rate at 87.1% and the highest Advanced Higher rate at 81.2%.
The area was also ahead when only the top grades were counted. A grades accounted for 60.5% of its National 5 entries, 46.2% of Higher entries and 33.8% at Advanced Higher.
East Dunbartonshire was the nearest challenger at the two largest qualification levels. It ranked second at National 5 with an A-C pass rate of 86.2% and second at Higher with 82.9%.
More than half of its National 5 entries - 53.5% - received an A. Its Higher A-grade rate was 40.8%, also second only to East Renfrewshire.
South Ayrshire recorded Scotland’s third-highest National 5 pass rate at 83.5%. That represented an increase of 3.2 percentage points from 2025, making it one of the most notable improvements among the leading authorities.
Stirling followed with a National 5 pass rate of 82.6%. It was also fourth for Highers at 81.1% and second for Advanced Highers at 79.8%.
That made Stirling one of the most consistent performers in Scotland. It also had the third-highest proportion of A grades at National 5 and Higher and was only narrowly behind East Renfrewshire for Advanced Higher A grades.
Orkney also appeared near the top at every level.
Its National 5 pass rate was 81.5%, placing it fifth in Scotland. At Higher, Orkney climbed to third with 81.8%, an increase of 6.4 percentage points from the previous year. Its Advanced Higher pass rate was 79.3%, again above the national average.
Smaller island authorities have fewer exam entries, meaning their annual percentages can move more sharply than those in large mainland councils. Orkney nevertheless performed above the Scottish average at all three levels.
Aberdeenshire was another strong National 5 performer. Its pass rate of 80.8% placed it sixth, based on more than 15,000 entries.
South Lanarkshire followed at 80.6%, West Dunbartonshire at 80.3% and Perth and Kinross at 80.2%. They were the other council areas to record National 5 pass rates above 80%.
The picture changed slightly at Higher. After East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, Orkney and Stirling, the fifth-highest pass rate was recorded by Perth and Kinross at 80.3%. This was 5.2 percentage points higher than in 2025.
Edinburgh was sixth for Highers at 79.5%, based on 16,520 entries. The capital also performed strongly at the top end, with 36.6% of Higher entries receiving an A.
Edinburgh’s strongest ranking came at Advanced Higher. Its A–C pass rate of 79.4% placed it third in Scotland, behind East Renfrewshire and Stirling.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and Orkney both recorded Advanced Higher pass rates of 79.3%, while Falkirk followed at 79.2%.
The Western Isles result was based on 140 Advanced Higher entries and Orkney’s on 110. Edinburgh, by comparison, had almost 3,000 entries. The figures are directly comparable as pass rates, but the difference in cohort size should be considered when assessing small movements between years.
Taken across all three qualifications, East Renfrewshire was the clear national leader. Stirling and Orkney were the other authorities to finish among the top five at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
The results also show that the strongest areas were not confined to one part of Scotland. High pass rates were recorded in affluent suburban authorities, rural council areas, island communities and the capital.
There remains, however, a strong relationship between educational results and deprivation.
Nationally, the A–C pass-rate gap between entries from the least and most deprived areas was 15.6 percentage points at National 5 and 15.9 points at Higher. At Advanced Higher it was 12.1 points.
Each gap narrowed from 2025, but the figures show that Scotland’s geographical differences cannot be considered separately from the wider poverty-related attainment gap.
The rankings are based on the proportion of exam entries receiving an A, B or C result.