East Renfrewshire has been named the best-performing council area in Scotland for the 2026 exam results, achieving a pass rate of over 90% at National 5 level.
More than 148,000 students across Scotland received their results on Tuesday, August 4, from Qualifications Scotland, which has taken over from the SQA. Pass rates increased slightly compared to last year across National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher qualifications.
National improvements
The proportion of pupils achieving an A, B, or C grade at National 5 rose from 78.4% to 79.2% in 2026. Higher results increased from 75.9% in 2025 to 76.7%, while Advanced Higher results rose to 77.6% from 76.7%.
Despite the overall improvement, there is still variation between council areas. According to data from Qualifications Scotland, East Renfrewshire was the only council to achieve a pass rate above 90%, with 90.6% of entries graded A to C. East Dunbartonshire followed with 86.2%, and South Ayrshire with 83.5%.
Attainment gap narrows slightly
The attainment gap between the most and least deprived Scots has narrowed slightly, but remains significant. The gap in National 5 qualifications is now 15.6 percentage points, down from 16.4 points the previous year.
Below is a breakdown of how each Scottish council performed in the 2026 exams, showing the percentage of entries achieving grades A to C.
Council-by-council results
- East Renfrewshire: National 5 - 90.6%, Higher - 87.1%, Advanced Higher - 81.2%
- Orkney Islands: National 5 - 81.5%, Higher - 81.8%, Advanced Higher - 79.3%
- Aberdeenshire: National 5 - 80.8%, Higher - 76.8%, Advanced Higher - 73.2%
- Perth and Kinross: National 5 - 80.2%, Higher - 80.3%, Advanced Higher - 78%
- Stirling: National 5 - 82.6%, Higher - 81.1%, Advanced Higher - 79.8%
- West Dunbartonshire: National 5 - 80.3%, Higher - 76.5%, Advanced Higher - 75.9%
- East Dunbartonshire: National 5 - 86.2%, Higher - 82.9%, Advanced Higher - 77%
- South Lanarkshire: National 5 - 80.6%, Higher - 75.8%, Advanced Higher - 74.1%
- South Ayrshire: National 5 - 83.5%, Higher - 78.5%, Advanced Higher - 77.1%
- Shetland Islands: National 5 - 79.8%, Higher - 77.2%, Advanced Higher - 77.1%
- Highland: National 5 - 77%, Higher - 74%, Advanced Higher - 74.3%
- Na h-Eileanan Siar: National 5 - 79.3%, Higher - 72.9%, Advanced Higher - 79.3%
- Moray: National 5 - 74%, Higher - 69.5%, Advanced Higher - 69.7%
- Aberdeen City: National 5 - 77.4%, Higher - 76.1%, Advanced Higher - 75.4%
- Angus: National 5 - 73.5%, Higher - 70.9%, Advanced Higher - 76.5%
- Argyll and Bute: National 5 - 76%, Higher - 75%, Advanced Higher - 72.7%
- Fife: National 5 - 73.1%, Higher - 71.1%, Advanced Higher - 71.4%
- Clackmannanshire: National 5 - 79.3%, Higher - 72.8%, Advanced Higher - 78.9%
- Inverclyde: National 5 - 77.3%, Higher - 75.5%, Advanced Higher - 69.3%
- Renfrewshire: National 5 - 78.7%, Higher - 75.4%, Advanced Higher - 75.7%
- Glasgow City: National 5 - 74%, Higher - 71.1%, Advanced Higher - 71.9%
- North Lanarkshire: National 5 - 78.1%, Higher - 72.7%, Advanced Higher - 71.8%
- Falkirk: National 5 - 79.3%, Higher - 76.5%, Advanced Higher - 79.2%
- West Lothian: National 5 - 78.3%, Higher - 73.3%, Advanced Higher - 66.8%
- City of Edinburgh: National 5 - 79.5%, Higher - 79.5%, Advanced Higher - 79.4%
- Midlothian: National 5 - 76.1%, Higher - 75.2%, Advanced Higher - 74.1%
- East Lothian: National 5 - 78.5%, Higher - 77.8%, Advanced Higher - 71.9%
- Scottish Borders: National 5 - 75.1%, Higher - 74.3%, Advanced Higher - 74.5%
- Dumfries and Galloway: National 5 - 76.4%, Higher - 77.2%, Advanced Higher - 76.8%
- North Ayrshire: National 5 - 76.3%, Higher - 74.2%, Advanced Higher - 73.3%
- East Ayrshire: National 5 - 77.5%, Higher - 72.3%, Advanced Higher - 71%
