“Whichever door you walk through next, it will be the right one for you”

I remember my own results day vividly. I had opted out of the new text and email service, so had to wait longer than my friends and as the postie was coming to deliver my results I remember the song playing on the radio: Paolo Nutini’s Worried Man.

The mixture of worry, excitement and nerves is something that many young people who got their results this week will recognise. And it is my sincerest hope that every one of them now feels another, well deserved emotion: pride.

Scotland’s learners have a lot to be proud of this year, and I would like to congratulate them all. I know how much hard work and resilience it takes to get here and they all deserve enormous credit.

These are incredibly positive results across the board, with academic passes up at every level – including a record number of National 5 passes.

The results also show a strong mix of academic excellence and vocational strength with an increasing breadth of the qualifications on offer, including sports, creative industries, childcare, engineering and journalism. There have been a record number of vocational and technical qualifications, up by 121% on pre-pandemic levels.

We are also seeing more learners taking Gaelic, with young Gaelic speakers continuing to develop and use their language skills beyond school in learning and employment.

This is all testament to the strength of Scotland's education system, the professionalism of teachers and school staff, and the hard work of young people.

This is also the first results day data produced by Qualifications Scotland, marking a significant milestone for our qualifications system.

The diversity of qualifications now on offer – whether they are gained through academic study, vocational and technical learning or work-based opportunities – is equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to flourish in the modern world. This is a core aim of Curriculum for Excellence: to prepare young people for their future in life, learning and work.

I am particularly pleased that there has been another narrowing in the attainment gap between the most and least deprived areas, building on similar progress in the gaps for literacy and numeracy levels. This is welcome progress, but we will continue to do all we can to close the poverty related attainment gap even further, having invested £1.75 billion in the Scottish Attainment Challenge over the past decade, with up to £200 million being invested this year.

This year’s results have opened doors to more learners than ever in accessing Higher Education at university, with the total number of 18-year-olds in Scotland who have secured a place at university this year having increased to 17,920 – a record high for Scottish students on exam results day.

Scotland has some of the top-ranking universities in the world, and our determination to widen access to Higher Education is giving thousands of young people from more deprived areas the opportunity to further their studies, with a record number of 18-year-olds from Scotland's most deprived areas securing places at university.

Looking back to my results day, I needed A grades across the board for some of my chosen law schools but I did not get that in my fifth year. However I knew I could speak to my school careers adviser and Skills Development Scotland to help me work out where my grades might actually let me go.

I was fortunate that Glasgow University tested aptitude for law as well as looking at applicants’ grades, and this allowed them to bring people like me in who hadn't got straight As in one sitting.

But for any pupils who don’t end up getting into their first choice, whether it be university, college, an apprenticeship or another option, remember: everyone has their own pathway. There is absolutely no wrong turn, no wrong door. For a long time, there was an idea that your career path was linear, that you had to find your one path in life as early as possible and stick to it. That is simply not how it works anymore.

And no matter what happens, you're never alone. Teachers, and resources such as the Qualifications Scotland Learner Support Hub, are there to help learners plan their next steps. Learners, or their parents or carers, can also speak to trained careers advisers at Skills Development Scotland to discuss what their results mean and the options available to them.

Anyone with questions or concerns about their results should speak to their school, college or training provider in the first instance. There is also information about appeals on the Qualifications Scotland website for anyone with concerns about the grades they have received.

To everyone who has received their results this week, whatever they are: be proud of what you have achieved, and know that whichever door you walk through next, it will be the right one for you.