Universities Scotland has welcomed the publication of exam results across the country in what has been a very challenging time for school and college learners.
Today’s UCAS data show:
- An increase in the entry rate of Scottish domiciled 18-year-olds going to university at 28% (an increase from 26.4% in 2020).
- A 12% increase in Scottish-domiciled placed applicants of all ages at a Scottish university, to a record number of 32,580.
- An increase of 6.8% of Scottish students from the 20% most disadvantaged areas being placed at university. This means approximately 300 more students from SIMD20 areas will be attending university this year.
- Scotland remains a highly sought-after destination for international students with a 56% increase in placed applicants at Scottish universities from students outside the EU.
- An increase of 24% in students to 5,470 from England being placed at Scotland’s universities.
Commenting on the results, Deputy Director of Universities Scotland, David Lott said:
“Congratulations to all those who received their results today. Everyone studying over the past two years has had to overcome significant obstacles so, regardless of what grade you achieved, please take a moment to be proud of yourself.
“Demand for university remains very strong from our Scottish-domiciled applicants as well as from the rest of the UK and internationally. Universities are very pleased to be able to accommodate much of this demand this year following the creation of additional funded places for Scottish students. The UK is about to see a demographic trend towards a sharply growing number of 18 year-olds and this, combined with high levels of success amongst school-leavers, will add to future pressure on places.”
“Students starting next month should be reassured that universities have confidence in the integrity of the teacher assessed grades. The resilience and determination shown by this cohort of school and college leavers will stand them in good stead for both their academic career and life beyond university.”