I require evidence that I attended school for higher education/emigration/employment purposes. Where can I find this?
This depends on when you left school and whether you need confirmation of attendance or confirmation of exam results.
Exam certificates, 1948-present
If you require confirmation of any formal examinations, such as ‘O’ Grades, Standard Grades, National 4, National 5, Highers, Certificates of Sixth Year Studies or Advanced Highers, you should apply to the Scottish Qualifications Authority <https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/70972.html> [accessed 26 April 2024]
1908-48
If you sat the Higher Leaving exam in Scotland between 1908 and 1948, the records are held by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) under the reference ED36 and ED40. They survive in the form of bound volumes of returns by each school listing the names of the candidates, subjects, grades and marks. The volumes are arranged alphabetically by the parish or burgh in which each school was found. There is a closure period of 75 years. Therefore, if you sat your exams after the mid-1920s you should make your enquiry by letter or by e-mail to NRS, who will treat it as a subject access request under the Data Protection Act.
School Attendance
If you require confirmation that you attended secondary education and left school because you reached the statutory school leaving age, the position is more complicated. If you left school less than 5 years ago, the school or the Council education service will still have an electronic record of your school career.
If you left school more than 5 years ago but after about 1995 it is likely that your school records would have been held in an electronic system. These may have been destroyed 5 years after you left school.
If you left school before about 1995, it is likely that your individual school record (known as a pupil progress record) will have been confidentially destroyed. However, most schools kept admission registers, which record the name of each pupil, date of birth, last school attended, date joined school, date left and reason for leaving. If the head teacher recorded details of each pupil properly in the admission register and the register still exists, then it should provide you with the information you need.
There are three places to contact:
(a) Council Contact Centres. Councils all have contact centres which can refer your request to the relevant person to advise on whether they still hold any electronic or paper admission records of your time at school. This may be the Council’s records manager whose contact details will be found in the Council’s Records Management Plan, or it may be a relevant person in the Council’s education or children’s services.
(b) Archives. Some older paper admission registers have been deposited in the local archives service. If the archives service does not have this register they may be able to tell you who to contact.
(c) Schools. Some schools still hold older paper admission registers. If the school itself survives you may want to contact it directly. If the school still has the admission register for the years you attended school, staff there may be able to send you a letter confirming your attendance, or else will pass your details to the relevant office in the council’s education service, which will send you official confirmation. If the school does not have the register concerned, the head teacher may be able to tell you whether this has been destroyed or whether it has been passed to a local archives service.
If the school admission register does not survive, the council’s education service may be able to give you written confirmation that your school attendance cannot be confirmed because the records have been destroyed.