SQA results and uni places
High School of Dundee pupils have enjoyed a long history of scoring some of the best results in Scotland in SQA examinations.
Our pupils consistently score well above national averages in SQA examinations and the School regularly features in the top ten list of Scottish schools by results.
Over the years High School of Dundee pupils have also achieved the top results in the country at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level on numerous occasions.
- Higher Maths
- National 5 Mandarin
- National 5 Geography
- National 5 Maths (2 pupils)
- National 5 Spanish (2 pupils)
In the 2026 SQA exams:
91%
with
50%
A Grades
National average pass rate 77%
91%
with
44%
A Grades
National average pass rate 78%
97%
with
77%
A Grades
National average pass rate 79%
University destinations
Increasing emphasis is given to careers advice and preparing for life after school as pupils progress through the Senior Years.
But what do our pupils do, and where do they go when they leave us?
Year on year, around 95% of our leavers move on to Higher Education across the UK and beyond, including the top Scottish universities and Oxford and Cambridge.
Wherever an individual’s talents and interests lie, our aim is to help our pupils make the most of them.
In 2026, 100% of our UCAS applicants secured offers for their course of choice
From Art History, Biochemistry, Computing Science and Engineering, to Film & TV Studies, Law, Medicine and Psychology, our leavers are off to pursue a wide range of exciting futures, shaped by their individual interests and ambitions.
That reflects not only their hard work, but also the extensive, bespoke support and guidance of our dedicated staff.
Typically around 40% of our leavers go on to study subjects relating to Law, Medicine and Medical Sciences, and Business, while courses such as Dentistry, Architecture, Marketing and Engineering have also proved popular in recent years. With pupils also having taken up courses such as Fashion and Textiles Design, Film and Media and Marine Biology, there really is no limit to what our young people can go on to do.
In terms of destinations, Scottish universities such as Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and Aberdeen always prove popular choices, as do English universities like Durham, York, Newcastle and UCL. Over the years many of our pupils have secured places at Oxford and Cambridge and at overseas institutions, with a number of our recent leavers having successfully negotiated the challenging entry system for US Universities.
Increasingly we are seeing pupils looking to enter employment directly, pursue experience and skills-enhancing gap years or seek out apprenticeships in rapidly developing areas of work. Whatever their next steps are, we work with our pupils to make sure they get the very best from them.