An information booklet called Appeals 2023 – What you need to know is being sent to learners waiting on National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher results. It is also available for you or your child to download from our website.
Overview of Appeals 2023
Learners will receive their results certificate, delivered to their home address by first class post, on Tuesday 8 August. Those who have signed-up for and activated their MySQA account will also receive their results by text and/or email the same morning from 8 am.
Appeals 2023 will open on Tuesday 8 August at 9 am. The service provides learners with the opportunity to request a marking review if they have concerns about their certificated grade.
The appeals service is free and will be open for learners to appeal either directly to SQA, or through their school, college or training provider.
What is a marking review?
If your child has concerns about their grade and thinks there may have been an error with the marking of their exam question paper(s) or coursework, they can request a marking review. This is carried out by senior appointees – who are experienced teachers and lecturers.
This is different to last year’s appeals service as alternative assessment evidence will not be considered.
A marking review is not a re-mark of exam question papers. It is a check to make sure that:
- all parts of your child’s SQA assessments have been marked;
- the marking is in line with national standards;
- the marks given for each answer have been added up correctly; and
- the correct result has been entered on our system.
After your child’s appeal is reviewed, their grade can go up, stay the same, or go down.
Who can submit an appeal?
The appeals service is available to all learners if they have concerns about a National 5, Higher or Advanced Higher grade.
There are a few circumstances where your child cannot appeal including:
- their course award has been cancelled due to rule breaking (known as malpractice);
- they have been through the Examination Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service; or
- they have received a grade A.
The following subjects are not eligible for an appeal as they do not include any assessments that are marked by SQA:
- National 5 Practical Electronics
- National 5 Practical Metalworking
- National 5 Practical Woodworking
Appeals can be submitted by
- learners directly
- parents or carers
- your child’s school, college or training provider.
Parents, carers, teachers and lecturers must obtain the learners permission before submitting an appeal on their behalf.
Priority appeals
An appeal can be prioritised if your child has a conditional offer for university, college or training, or if an employment opportunity depends on their grade. All priority appeals must be validated by their school, college or training provider. If your child’s school, college or training provider is submitting the appeal, please tell them that your child has a conditional offer.
How to submit an appeal
Appeals 2023 can be accessed directly by you or your child on our website. When you first access the service, you must sign up and verify your email address. Priority appeals can be submitted up to Tuesday 15 August at 11.59 pm and by Tuesday 29 August at 11.59 pm for all other appeals.
To sign up for the service, you will be required to provide your child’s name, date of birth, Scottish Candidate Number (you can find this on their certificate), the subject and the level of the course, and whether your child is waiting for a result for a university or college place or for an employment, or training programme. Once signed up, you or your child can submit and withdraw an appeal.
If you are appealing on behalf of your child, please note the following.
- You must get your child’s permission before you submit an appeal.
- If you are appealing on behalf of more than one child, you will need to register for the service with a separate email address for each child.
- Your child should understand that their grade can go up, stay the same or go down.
- Your child should understand that they cannot also appeal separately.
Your child’s school, college or training provider can submit priority appeals by Monday 21 August at 5 pm and Friday 1 September at 5 pm for all other appeals.
Outcome of appeals
Following an appeal, your child’s grade can go up, stay the same or go down.
Before your child submits an appeal, we would encourage them to discuss their decision with their teacher, lecturer or another member of staff to determine if an appeal is in their best interests.
We will send the final result to your child’s school, college or training provider and if their appeal has resulted in a grade change, we will issue a new certificate.
Priority appeal results will be confirmed by Monday 4 September in order to meet the UCAS deadline.
The grade your child is awarded from Appeals 2023 will be final and they will not be able to appeal it again.
Keeping you informed
To stay up to date, please visit sqa.org.uk/appeals and follow us on Facebook @ScottishQualificationsAuthority and Twitter @sqanews
