St Andrews University Error Reveals Scottish Pupils' Exam Results Early

Exam Board 'Disappointed' In University As Pupils' Exam Results Released Early

Scotland's main exam board has expressed its disappointment at one of the country's most prestigious universities after blundering staff released pupils' exam results early.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) condemned St Andrews University for allowing 65 students who had applied to the institution to have access to their grades, four days before the results are officially released.

A spokesman for the SQA said: "We are disappointed that an error at St Andrews University has resulted in some of their applicants being able to view confidential information.

"We are expressing our disappointment to the university in the strongest terms and seeking urgent assurances that such an error can't happen again."

But it is not the first time the university, which counts Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge among its alumni, has released results early; the institution made a very similar error in 2010.

"We are especially disappointed in view of the fact that the university has admitted that a similar error was made by them two years ago," SQA added.

The mistake occurred while university staff were uploading exam results which they had received from UCAS. Pupils were able to log on to the university's portal iSaint on Wednesday and find out their results, which are released to schools and higher education institutions a week early.

One mother told the BBC her daughter discovered her SQA results on Wednesday.

"Now some people have their results and have shared that information with friends who have not, leaving them trying to guess how they have done in comparison," she said. "There's a big emotional investment in these exams."

A spokeswoman for the university said it "regrets" the error, which it attributes to a combination of a system error and the efficiency of staff who processed data early.

"I should stress that this only affected a small number of Scottish students who already had been given and accepted unconditional offers," she added. "The matter was brought to our attention by a parent and action was quickly taken to close the loophole.

“It is very important to stress that this error did not affect people seeking admission to St Andrews or awaiting a decision upon a conditional offer.

"The ability to see exam results on our website applied only to students who had already accepted an unconditional offer from St Andrews and students could see only their own results and not those of others.”

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