Helpline Ready to Support Thousands of Young Scots on Results Day
A dedicated results helpline will open tomorrow (Tuesday, 4 August at 8am) to support around 148,000 Scottish pupils and students as their Qualifications Scotland results certificates are delivered.
Support is available to these young people and their parents and carers, through Skills Development Scotland’s (SDS) Results Helpline, which opens at 8am on Results Day.
The SDS Results Helpline will be staffed by expert careers advisers who will be providing impartial career information, advice, and guidance to assist anybody that needs help with understanding their results and their options, and what their next steps may be.
The 2026 SDS Results Helpline number is 0808 100 8000. It will be open from 8am to 8pm on Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 August, and from 9am to 5pm on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 August.
The team of fully qualified advisers from Scotland’s national skills agency will be at the end of the phone lines to offer information and guidance on colleges and universities, UCAS Confirmation and Clearing, apprenticeships, jobs and other training, volunteering, or staying on at school.
Kilmarnock Academy pupil Courtney McLaughlin (pictured, left, with careers adviser Melissa Masterton) previously called the Helpline after receiving her results from her fourth-year exams, which were not what she had hoped for.
Courtney explained: “I was so upset when I opened my results that I started crying and called the Results Helpline for help. After our conversation on the phone, the adviser Melissa got back in contact with me and reassured me my paths of being a physical education teacher were just going to be on a different road”.
Courtney, who has since left school, is about to embark on a Sports Coaching course at City of Glasgow College. She continued: “I have now been given a once in a lifetime chance to do Camp America and so far it’s one of the most extraordinary things I have done.
“If you’re ever in doubt, just make the call - more opportunities await ahead”.
Education Secretary Màiri McAllan (pictured, right, with career advisers staffing the helpline) said: “Results Day is about celebrating the hard work and achievements of every young person receiving their results, and the teachers, school staff, parents and carers who have supported them along the way.
“It can also be an anxious and uncertain time, but whatever your results there is support available and a wide range of options ahead. Whether your path is staying on at school, moving into college or university, starting an apprenticeship or other training, or entering employment, there are people there to help from the minute you get your results – you are not alone.
“The SDS results helpline is such an important service, alongside wider support through your school, Qualifications Scotland’s Learner Support Hub, and through Parent Club – the Scottish Government’s information hub offering advice and support for parents and carers.”
The SDS Results Helpline has been going for 34 years and has helped tens of thousands of young Scots. SDS advisers consistently say their advice to anyone who is unsure is to give the helpline a call to connect with and speak things through with a careers adviser. They can help them look both at their immediate questions and the wider context and environment around them, so they can make well thought through and informed choices about their next steps.
Dave McCallum, Head of Career Information, Advice and Guidance Operations at SDS said: “Our message for young people and their parents and carers as their results arrive is not to panic. Everything might seem overwhelming right now but remember that this is just one step on their journey.
“Our experienced advisers are here to provide expert support and guidance, offering information on a wide range of options and opportunities. They are also trained to help young people recognise that they are more than their exam results, giving them the confidence to see their strengths and skills beyond qualifications.”
In addition to the expert support and guidance available from the Results Helpline, SDS careers advisers are available throughout the academic year in all schools in Scotland to give advice and guidance to young people and their parents or carers.
Speak to an adviser
Anyone of any age not in school can speak to an adviser in an SDS centre or community venue across the country - find out what’s close to you by visiting the Contact Us page on the SDS website.
Get in touchMy World of Work
There’s help online too from Scotland’s career website, My World of Work, or the SDS freephone helpline number is 0800 917 8000 and is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Visit My World of Work