SQA exam results delayed as Storm Floris strikes postal services

Royal Mail has confirmed that there will be delays to the delivery of SQA results in several parts of the country on Tuesday.

Storm Floris will leave Scots students without their exam results on Tuesday after postal services were hit.

High winds and rain are currently battering Scotland, with gusts predicted to reach 90mph in some parts of the country through the course of Monday and into Tuesday morning.

The storm has already brought chaos to transport services amid an Amber weather warning, with rail outages, blocked roads and thousands of homes losing power.

Now Royal Mail has confirmed that there will be delays to the delivery of SQA results in several parts of the country.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said pupils who had been expecting to receive results for National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher, and National Progression Awards in the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland will face delays tomorrow, with the potential for further delays elsewhere at short notice.

A statement said: “Due to the widespread disruption caused by Storm Floris, Royal Mail has confirmed that there will be delays to the delivery of SQA results in several parts of Scotland.

“In particular, we know deliveries to the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland will be delayed due to the adverse weather. Further localised delays to deliveries may occur at short notice.

“If any affected candidates wish to know their results, they should contact their school or college in the first instance who should be able to help them. Alternatively, learners can submit an enquiry via our website and their query will be responded to by our team after 12noon on Tuesday 5 August.

“We are not anticipating any impact on the MySQA text and email service.”

Trains and ferries have been cancelled and people are being urged to avoid travel across mainland Scotland, the Western Isles and Orkney until 11pm, while vehicles have been blown over.

Fallen trees have closed roads across Scotland and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has been cancelled.

More than 22,000 properties were without electricity in the Highlands and north-east of Scotland on Monday afternoon.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the storm would bring “significant disruption” from unseasonably strong winds.

Much of Scotland will be battered by the heavy rain and winds, with an amber weather warning covering the central belt to the north coast from 10am to 11pm.

The Met Office said injuries and danger to life are expected from large waves hitting seafronts, coastal roads and properties.