Pupils at High School of Dundee are celebrating exam success after their hard work was rewarded on results day.
Thousands of pupils across Scotland received their SQA results on Tuesday, including awards for Nationals, Highers, and Advanced Highers.
Among those receiving their grades were High School of Dundee students Zara King, 15, Darcey Brown, 17, Lily Christie, 17, Conor Arbuckle, 17 and Rishabh Akula, 18.
All five pupils were delighted with their results.
Fourth-year student Zara received exam results for the first time after sitting her National 5s in May.
She said: “I’m delighted with the results I achieved, I put a lot of every into it and I’m glad that it’s paid off.
“The teachers have been brilliant and identified any weak spots I had, so I felt really prepared.”
Zara will now study Highers and is eyeing an architecture or product design course at university.
University was also on the mind of 17-year-old Darcey, who received straight-As in her Highers this morning.
She said: “You always doubt yourself and your mind plays tricks on you but I got what I wanted.”
Zara thanked her teachers and parents for the role they played in her getting the results she wanted.
Lily, 17, endured added stress with her exams this year.
Poorly-timed illness meant she had to miss two of her exams. But despite that, Lily’s hard work earlier in the year paid off, as she still got five As in her Highers.
Lily said: “I was a bit unsure what would happen after missing the exams.
“But I’m glad that I put in the work earlier in the year too so that I got all the results that I wanted.
“Nobody ever believes it till something like that happens.”
Looking ahead, Lily has started to think about univerity. She said that getting her grades today takes “a huge weight off her shoulders” and will attend open days over the next few months.
Dundee High pupils ready for the next step
For many students, it will be the last time they get their SQA exam results, with some nervously waiting to see if they have met conditions for university.
Sixth-year pupil Conor sat his Advanced Higher in May knowing he had to meet requirements to get to university.
He said: “I didn’t expect my results to be as good.
“I’ve met my conditions for university so it’s a massive relief after a stressful couple of months waiting for the results.”
Conor will begin studying Medicine at the University of Glasgow in September thanks to As in Advanced Higher Biology, Chemistry, and Maths.
He thanked the school for the support they gave him throughout his last year.
He said: “The school set me up with a teacher to help me through UCAS applications, personal statements and extra tests for medicine.
“Having that extra support definitely made everything much simpler.”
Rishabh, who will be moving to Bristol to study Aerospace Engineering in September, was equally over the moon with his 2 As and a B at Advanced Higher level.
“I’m a big fan of planes and Formula One so it just seemed like the obvious next step.
“The support I got from the school was brilliant when filling out my UCAS application, I can’t thank them enough.”
Dundee High teacher’s pride on results day
Dundee High Depute Rector Sam Watson praised the successes of her students while also offering a word of advice for others.
She said: “You are so pleased to see all the individual successes but equally you are aware that for some young people, there are disappointments as well.
“There’s always a path – exam results are just one small part of life.
“Every pupil has so much to give.”
High School of Dundee received an average pass rate of 91.6% at Higher level, with 56.3% A grades.
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