Pupils hopeless and crying after 'poorly worded' Higher Maths exam

Pupils hopeless and crying after 'poorly worded' Higher Maths exam 11 May 2026 Share Save Add as preferred on Google Mary McCool BBC Scotland Getty Images Pupils in Scotland have told the BBC they were left upset, hopeless and fearing for their futures after sitting a Higher Maths exam which they said was "totally unrecognisable" from what they had prepared for in class. More than 11,000 people have signed a petition calling for a review of the paper, which states it was "poorly worded, inconsistently structured, and out of step with every previous paper". One of the main complaints the BBC has heard is that some "command words" - the words that indicate how you should answer the question - were different from what pupils had been taught to expect, so they did not know what was being asked. Newly created exam body Qualifications Scotland said all papers were checked to make sure they are "clear, fair and suitable". About 20,000 pupils sat the Higher Maths exam last year. It is the first year of exams under Qualifications Scotland, which replaced the controversial Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) earlier this year. The SQA was disbanded following criticism from teachers and politicians, in part for how it handled exam grading during the Covid pandemic and in part for its handling of the 2024 Higher history exam paper. The exam is split into two papers and both have caused problems for pupils - though the petition only complains about paper one. One S5 pupil in Aberdeen who hopes to study medicine, told the BBC she was worried about her chances of being accepted into university if she does not get a top Maths grade. She said she felt "well prepared" ahead of the exam - having done four years' worth of past papers - and had got an A in her prelim. "When I opened it thought it was ok, but I got really upset with it," she said. "I thought I was really prepared, and had the impression that I was over-prepared but it was so different to what I'd done before." The pupil said "a lot of people" had particular issue with the phrase "linear factor" in question 11, which she said would have been clearer had they been asked about "real roots". Heading into the second exam paper after an hour's break, the pupil said she was stressed because of how badly the first paper had gone. "I scraped a finish in the second paper," she said. "I felt like I was running out of time because I was so stressed. I think it affected my performance." PA Media Another S5 pupil, based in South Lanarkshire, told the BBC the language was "totally unrecognisable" from what he had seen before. He had hoped to continue his straight-A streak in Higher Maths and go on to study electrical engineering or law but is now worried he might not make the grade. "I was extremely stressed, it's potentially a future-altering exam," he said. "There were people in tears coming out that paper. "I felt hopeless going into second paper, it felt like my chances of getting an A were out the window. "