Scottish Highers: record numbers secure university places

A record number of young people in Scotland have secured places at university or college, with the pass rate for all the country’s exams increasing.

Some 17,920 students aged 18 and under have gained entry to an institution, according to admissions service Ucas, up 3 per cent from last year’s cohort of 17,350.

Meanwhile, Qualifications Scotland – established last year to replace the nearly 30-year-old Scottish Qualifications Authority – revealed that pass rates for Highers and Advanced Highers had increased for the second year in a row.

Some 76.7 per cent of students received an A to C grade in their Higher exams, up from 75.9 per cent last year – although the figure is yet to return to 2022’s notable 78.9 per cent rate.

And 77.6 per cent managed to pass their Advanced Higher qualifications with an A to C result, rising from 2025’s 76.7 per cent.

Scottish education secretary Màiri McAllan said it was a “proud day” for the country’s young people.

“These are incredibly positive results across the board, with academic passes up at every level,” she said, adding: “For those young people who may be disappointed with their results, I would urge them to remember that there is no wrong path.”

The number of international students now preparing to study in Scotland after gaining a place has risen 2 per cent – with a 3 per cent leap in those coming from outside the European Union (3,070 people) and a 1 per cent dip in those from the EU (660).

When including applicants of all ages, 32,370 people will progress to university and college courses, a figure that has also risen – up 2 per cent on last year’s 31,850.

Meanwhile, the number of people who secured a place at their first choice of university has increased by a modest 1 per cent, with 30,160 successfully admitted to their firm option (up from 29,840).

Notably, the proportion of disadvantaged young people securing a place through Ucas also rose, with the percentage of disadvantaged 18-year-old Scottish students gaining entry to university or college growing from 16 per cent last year to 16.2 per cent in 2026.

Jo Saxton, chief executive of Ucas, said she was “delighted” to see evidence of universities’ and colleges’ “hard to work” to “widen access”.

Nonetheless, the “most advantaged” students in Scotland are still 2.7 times more likely to progress to university or college than the least advantaged, Ucas cautioned. This is according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation – a ranking that takes into account deprivation across factors including income, employment, education, health and more in a given area.

Subjects growing rapidly in popularity include nursing, with 2,660 students accepted to study the course at Scottish universities versus 2,430 people last year, and engineering and technology, which had a 16 per cent increase in enrolments – reaching 2,520 placed applicants compared with 2,180 in 2025.

Student numbers for medicine and dentistry, as well as social sciences, also increased.

Saxton said: “Congratulations to all students in Scotland receiving their results today. It’s fantastic to see record numbers of young Scottish students heading to university or college this autumn, showing the continued appeal of higher education in Scotland.”

georgia.luckhurst@timeshighereducation.com