SQA grades and bands explained: A to D, bands 1 to 9 and No Award

SQA grades: A, B, C, D and No Award

Graded National Courses at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher are awarded a grade from A to D. If a candidate does not reach the D boundary, the result is No Award and the course is not awarded. The SQA, now Qualifications Scotland, describes a grade boundary as the minimum mark needed for a grade in a course: its example is that a C boundary of 51 means you need 51 marks or more to get a grade C.

Each pass grade is broken into bands, numbered 1 to 9 with 1 the highest. The bands matter because schools estimate your result as a band. The figures below are the notional percentage ranges in SQA's guidance on producing estimates, which apply to National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher from 2019 to 2020 onwards.

So a grade A starts at a notional 70%, a B at 60%, a C at 50% and a D at 40%. These are guides, not the marks that decide your result. The actual boundary for each course changes each year, as the next section explains.

How SQA grade boundaries are set

After all exams and coursework are complete and marked, the SQA decides the grade boundaries in a process it calls awarding. Senior staff meet subject specialists and look at feedback from markers, the marks candidates achieved at course level and for each assessment component, and in many cases for individual questions. If a paper was more or less difficult than intended, the boundaries are adjusted, so that the minimum mark needed for an A, B, C or D represents the same standard from one year to the next. Each course has its own boundary decisions each year, which is why a C in Higher Physics and a C in Higher Biology can need different marks. Our guides to Higher Physics and Higher Biology cover each paper.

SQA results 2026: what share got each grade

Qualifications Scotland published the 2026 results on Tuesday 4 August 2026 and its provisional attainment summary gives these figures. They are provisional and may change through appeals and late amendments.

Entries are rounded to the nearest five. More than three in every four entries at each level passed with a C or better, and about three in ten reached an A at Higher and Advanced Higher. The SQA exam timetable 2026 page has the dates for the 2026 exams and results day.

Grades and UCAS points

Universities and colleges use the UCAS Tariff to turn grades into points. The 2026 Tariff tables give these values for Scottish qualifications:

An Advanced Higher A is worth 56 points, the same as an A level A*. A Higher is a smaller qualification, worth 24 SCQF credit points against 32 for an Advanced Higher, which is why its points are lower. Many courses write their entry requirements as grades rather than points, so check the course page. See National 5 and Higher compared with GCSE and A-level.

Estimated grades

Your school sends an estimate for each course before the exams start. SQA's guidance says it uses estimates to help decide grade boundaries, to prioritise scripts that are close to a boundary, and to support exceptional circumstances requests. In its 2026 guide for candidates, it also says you can talk to your teachers about your progress and estimated grades before the school sends them. An estimate is a prediction of your final band across all course components, based on how you do in assessments at school. See our prelims guide for how school assessments fit in.

Use today's paper to see your grade

Sit today's paper for your subject on our Scottish papers, such as National 5 Maths, Higher Maths or Higher Physics. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full Qualifications Scotland paper. When you mark it, the results page shows a predicted grade and the marks needed for each grade, using the notional ranges above: A from 70%, B from 60%, C from 50% and D from 40%. Real boundaries move each year, so treat the prediction as a guide.

For example, 19 marks out of 30 is 63.3%, which is a lower B, band 4. 22 out of 30 is 73.3%, a lower A, band 2. Divide your mark by the total, then read down the band table.

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