05/08/2025
Some students receiving their exam results today will be disappointed and feel that they haven't achieved their full potential. However they should remember that there are often other roads to success. I shot pictures recently for the launch of the Skills Development Scotland Results Helpline:
A Cumnock Ladies footballer is urging youngsters to call for support if they need it when receiving their exam results. Teenager Courtney McLaughlin called the SDS Results Helpline last August to get advice about her SQA results. Courtney, 17, didn’t get the National 5 grades she had hoped for in English and History and thought it was a major setback in her career plans.
The Kilmarnock Academy pupil said: “I was so upset when I opened my results that I started crying and called the results helpline for help.
“The adviser calmed me down and made me feel much better through our conversation. I was able to see that it was not the end of the world and that I still had options.
"They advised me to speak to my teacher, who reassured me that I could re-take those subjects in fifth year, if I wanted.”
After calling the helpline, Courtney continued to get support from her school careers advisers.
