Dear Parents/Carers,
Please use the link to access the 2025-2026 LearnWell Calendar. Learnwell Calendar 25.26.docx
Kind regards,
November 18, 2025
by Mrs SHEARER
0 comments
October 9, 2025
by A QUIGLEY
0 comments
Prelim Timetable 2025
PRELIM TIMETABLE 2025
Dear Parents & Carers,
Please find a copy of the prelim timetable here. This, and the important information below, has been shared with Senior Phase learners this morning.
It is your responsibility to know the dates and times of all your prelims, and arrive on time. When you are in an exam, you will be marked present if you attend. When you are not in an exam, you should attend class as normal. There is no study leave for prelims.
Please read the important information below carefully:
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You may have more than one exam in a day. This is unavoidable, and could happen in the SQA exam diet. If you feel that you would be unfairly disadvantaged because of this i.e. you get extra time and will have no break between exams, please come and speak to me or email me.
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If you are not sitting any exams this year, you attend class as normal during the prelims to work on your National Qualifications
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If you are entitled to additional arrangements i.e. use of a digital paper, Mrs Hoy will provide you with a personalised timetable in November. Make sure you know the start time and location if you will not be in the main hall.
You will find the answer to almost every question you have about prelims below.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL CANDIDATES TAKING PRELIM EXAMINATIONS
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Full school uniform must be worn to all exams and when S4-6 pupils attend school at any time during the prelim diet. Outdoor jackets and any non-uniform items must be removed in the exam hall, as they would be in class.
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There is no Study Leave for prelim exams. All candidates should attend classes as usual unless they have a scheduled exam.
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Candidates should ensure they know the location of each exam in advance and must check the seating lists in ‘The Street’ area from 8:40am to ensure they know their seat number.
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Candidates entitled to alternative assessment arrangements i.e. use of ICT or extra time will have alternative accommodation. These candidates should ensure they know their individual arrangements in advance of each exam. Please see Mrs Hoy if you are unsure.
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Candidates should arrive at least ten minutes before each exam to ensure they are seated and the assessment can begin promptly.
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Candidates are responsible for bringing all necessary equipment such as pens, pencils and calculators. Paper will be provided.
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Exam papers and candidate answers must be left in the exam hall and cannot be removed.
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School transport will continue as normal during the prelim diet, as will canteen service. Pupils may need to take an earlier or later lunch depending on exam times and should ensure they plan ahead for this.
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If a candidate is unable to attend a scheduled exam due to serious illness or an emergency, parents/ carers should contact the school office on 01563 526 144 as soon as possible and leave a message stating the pupil name, year group, scheduled exam and reason for absence. Prelim exams cannot be rescheduled/ resat unless there are exceptional circumstances.
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Exam locations:
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Games Hall – the large gym hall, access at the Drama Studio, Fitness Suite and the Assembly Hall
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Small Gym – the smaller gym next to the primary gym, access via corridor at PE
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Support for Learning – if you are sitting an exam in an alternative location because you receive additional arrangements, report to Mrs Hoy before the exam begins, across from the school library, if you are unsure where to go.
As always, please speak to me or email me at any time about any exam related questions.
Mrs Buchanan
August 1, 2025
by A QUIGLEY
0 comments
SQA Results August 2025
Dear Parents & Carers,
Please find below some very important information shared with pupils regarding SQA Results.
If your child needs to appeal an SQA grade or change a school subject following receipt of their results on Tuesday, please encourage them to use the links sent by Mrs Buchanan via email. School staff will not be available in person on results day and pupils must use the forms provided if there are any issues. Mrs Buchanan will be available all day to support pupils via email and telephone.
If your child has now left St, Joseph’s Academy (including outgoing S6), they will no longer be able to access their Glow mail but can still use the appeal link using a personal email.
Dear Senior phase pupils,
I hope you are all having a great summer holiday.
You will receive your SQA Certificate to your home address on Tuesday 5th August 2025. Please do not panic if your mail comes later than normal as it is a very busy day for Royal Mail. If you signed up for electronic results on MySQA, you will receive your grades by text and/or email.
The certificate you receive will detail all SQA awards you have gained, including qualifications without an exam i.e. N4s, NPAs and individual unit awards.
If you wish to know your component marks (the number of marks you received in each part of the exam), your teachers will be happy to share this with you in person when you return to school. School staff cannot share this with you by email during the holidays, so please do not contact staff to request these.
Appeals
If the result you receive is unexpected or you believe it could be wrong, you have the right to appeal that grade. Only you can request an appeal, not your parents or carers. Appealing a grade is free of charge.
In 2025, Appeals will involve an SQA employee checking the marking of the exam paper you sat during the exam diet. There are some very important things you must be aware of if you appeal.
- The school does not send any alternative evidence to SQA for Appeals. This means that if you received a higher grade in your prelim, it does not help your appeal.
- The estimated grade your teacher provided, and may have discussed with you, has no bearing on your ability to appeal a grade
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If you require an appeal for university entry this September, this will be dealt with as matter of priority by SQA
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If you do not have a conditional offer for university starting September 2025, your appeal is not a priority appeal (but will still be processed)
- If you appeal, your grade could go up or go down or stay the same
If you wish to appeal one or more grades, please use the form below. Please do not contact your pastoral care teacher, class teacher or office staff and only use the form below to request an appeal. The form opens at 6am on Tuesday 5th August. If you or your parent or carer contacts the school office, they will direct you to use the form below.
If you request an appeal using this form, Mrs Buchanan will submit this to SQA on your behalf. You do not need to take any further action.
Please note that you will not receive the outcome of any appeals you submit until October 2025 (unless it is a priority appeal).
Options Changes
Following your results, a small number of you may need to make changes to your S5 or S6 options. This may be due to performing better than expected in a subject, needing to resit a subject or requiring an improved grade for university. Please note that some subject change requests may not be possible if the timetable columns do not allow it, or a subject is full or not being offered this year.
Please do not wait until you return to school to discuss an options change. You should use the form below and this means you can return to school with an accurate timetable. If you do not use the form to do this, the subjects you wish to move into may be full by the time we return to school.
If you need to request an options change based on SQA Results, please use the form below. Please do not contact your pastoral care teacher, class teacher or office staff and only use the form below or see me in person to request a change. The form opens at 6am on Tuesday 5th August.
If you have friends that have left school and they need to appeal a grade, please send them a link to the appeals form. They will be able to access this with their personal email account as they will no longer have access to Glow.
July 23, 2025
by A QUIGLEY
0 comments
SQA Results Day 5th August 2025
The email below was issued to all pupils who sat at least one SQA Exam during April & May 2025. You will also receive an SQA Certificate if you achieved any National 2-4 qualifications during the 2024/25 session.
Dear SQA Candidates,
Please find some important information below regarding your SQA Results.
SQA Results Day 2025
Your SQA Certificate will be delivered to your Home Address on Tuesday 5th August 2025. The SQA will send the certificate to the address the school holds for you.
If you have moved house or changed address, you must inform the school office as soon as possible and provide up to date address details. Otherwise, your certificate will go to the wrong address and you will have to pay SQA for a replacement.
We recommend you sign up to receive your results by text and email at MySQA.
Appeals
You have the right to appeal one or more of your exam results if you wish to do so. Appeals are free of charge and involve a review of the marking of your exam paper(s). Alternative evidence such as your prelim result, estimated grade or class test scores are not considered by SQA in the Appeals process.
Before results day, I will issue a Micrsoft form for you to register an appeal with us.
You do not need to call the school, attend school or make contact with any staff to appeal a grade. You should only use the form that I issue to register an appeal. If you contact the school office or your teacher, they will direct you to use the Microsoft form I will issue. School staff will not be available on Results Day to discuss your grades in person, but all queries will be dealt with by me if you submit a query via the forms.
If your university place for September 2025 is dependent on an appeal, this will be prioritised by SQA.
You can read more about SQA Appeals here.
Changes to school subjects following SQA Results
There will be an opportunity to make changes to school subjects based on SQA results if you do not achieve the grade you hoped for, or achieved a better grade than expected.
I will email a Microsoft form that you can use to request an options change. There will also be an opportunity for pupils to come in to school on Monday 18th August or Tuesday 19th August to discuss options changes in person. I will confirm the date/ time for this before SQA Results day.
Remember that some options changes or combinations will not be possible to the column structure, and that some SQA subjects are already full. This means that not all requested
options changes will be possible.
If you wish to change a subject, you must use the form I send you or come in to school in order to do this so that you can return to school on Wednesday 20th August 2025 with an accurate timetable.
Thank you,
Mrs Buchanan
January 14, 2025
by Mr Kane
0 comments
S3 into S4 Options – January 2025
Dear S3 Pupils and Parents/Carers,
Please use the undernoted to further support your son/daughter following our Personalisation and Choice event on the evening of Thursday 16th January.
- S3 into S4 Option Choice Presentation – Click Here
- SDS Presentation – Click Here
- Ayrshire College Presentation – Click Here
- S3 into S4 Option Choice Booklet – Click Here
- S3 Option Choice video – Click Here
- SDS Careers Adviser video led by Kate Faulds (SDS) – Click Here
- SDS Careers Adviser Contact details to arrange discussion with parents/carers – Click Here
- Scottish Credits and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) PowerPoint Presentation Click Here
- Regional Skills Assessment Report – SDS 2024 – Click Here
- School College Partnership Course List – Tuesday/Thursday Afternoons – Click Here
- Full Time College Course Application Process – Click Here
Interviews with Pastoral Care teachers will begin as soon as possible following the information evening.
Please note, some of the above videos were recorded in earlier sessions, but the advice and guidance is still relevant. The booklet and School Presentations are updated annually.
Kind Regards
January 13, 2025
by Mr Kane
0 comments
S2 into S3 – Personalisation and Choice – January 2025
Dear S2 Pupils and Parents/Carers,
Please use the undernoted to further support your son/daughter following our Personalisation and Choice event on the evening of Tuesday 14th January.
- S2 into S3 Option Choice Presentation – Click Here
- SDS Presentation – Click Here
- S2 into S3 Option Choice Booklet – Click Here
- Scottish Credits and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) PowerPoint Presentation Click Here
- S2 into S3 School Video – Click here
- SDS Careers Advice video led by Kate Faulds – Click Here
- SDS Careers Adviser Contact Details – Click Here
- Regional Skills Assessment Report – SDS 2024 – Click Here
Interviews with Pastoral Care teachers will begin as soon as possible following the information evening.
Please note, some of the above videos were recorded in earlier sessions, but the advice and guidance is still relevant. The booklet and School Presentations are updated annually.
Kind Regards
January 9, 2025
by Mr Kane
0 comments
S4/5 into S5/6 Options – January 2025
Thank you to those able to attend our Information Evening on Thursday 9th January. All presentations and supporting documentation can be found below.
Interviews for S4/5 pupils will begin on Friday 10th January.
- School Booklet – Click Here
- School Presentation – Click Here
- SDS Presentation – Click Here
- College Presentation – Click Here
- School Video – Click Here
- SDS Careers Advice video led by Kate Faulds – Click Here
- SDS Careers Adviser Contact Details – Click Here
- SCQF Information for Parents/Carers – Click Here
- Regional Skills Assessment Report – SDS 2024 – Click Here
- School College Partnership Course List – Tuesday/Thursday Afternoons – Click Here
- Full Time College Course Application Process – Click Here
Pastoral Care teacher’s will notify pupils of their interview date and time.
Please note, some of the above videos were recorded in earlier sessions, but the advice and guidance is still relevant. The booklet and School, College, SCQF and SDS Presentations are updated annually and reflect that discussed on Thursday.
Kind Regards
October 29, 2024
by A QUIGLEY
0 comments
Prelim Exams 2024
Dear Parents & carers,
Our prelim diet takes place in November/ December this year. Prelims begin on Monday 25th November 2024.
Please find a copy of our prelim timetable here, with some important information about prelim exams on the last page. Please take time to read the important info below.
A copy was also emailed to pupils on 28/10/24.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL CANDIDATES TAKING PRELIM EXAMINATIONS
Full school uniform must be worn to all exams and when S4-6 pupils attend school at any time during the prelim diet. Outdoor jackets and any non-uniform
items must be removed in the exam hall, as they would be in class.
There is no Study Leave for prelim exams. All candidates should attend classes as usual unless they have a scheduled exam.
Candidates should ensure they know the location of each exam in advance and must check the seating lists in ‘The Street’ area from 8:40am to ensure they
know their seat number.
Candidates entitled to alternative assessment arrangements i.e. use of ICT or extra time will have alternative accommodation. These candidates should ensure
they know their individual arrangements in advance of each exam. Please see Mrs Hoy if you are unsure.
Candidates should arrive at least ten minutes before each exam to ensure they are seated and the assessment can begin promptly.
Candidates are responsible for bringing all necessary equipment such as pens, pencils and calculators. Paper will be provided.
Exam papers and candidate answers must be left in the exam hall and cannot be removed.
School transport will continue as normal during the prelim diet, as will canteen service. Pupils may need to take an earlier or later lunch depending on exam
times and should ensure they plan ahead for this.
If a candidate is unable to attend a scheduled exam due to serious illness or an emergency, parents/ carers should contact the school office on 01563 526 144
as soon as possible and leave a message stating the pupil name, year group, scheduled exam and reason for absence. Prelim exams cannot be rescheduled/
resat unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Exam locations:
Games Hall – the large gym hall, access at the Drama Studio, Fitness Suite and the Assembly Hall
Small Gym – the smaller gym next to the primary gym, access via corridor at PE
Support for Learning – if you are sitting an exam in an alternative location because you receive additional arrangements, report to Mrs Hoy before the exam
begins, across from the school library, if you are unsure where to go.
Kind Regards,
Mrs Buchanan (Miss Quigley)
August 3, 2024
by A QUIGLEY
0 comments
SQA Results Day Tuesday 6th August 2024
Dear Parents & Carers,
Please find important information below regarding SQA Results Day on Tuesday 6th August. This outlines exactly what your child should do if they need to appeal a grade or change a subject following results. If your child has now left St. Joseph’s Academy and does not have access to Glow, they can still use the link below to register an appeal.
You will receive your SQA Certificate to your home address on Tuesday 6th August. Please do not panic if your mail comes later than normal as it is a very busy day for Royal Mail. If you signed up for electronic results on MySQA, you will receive your grades by text and/or email.
The certificate you receive will detail all SQA awards you have gained, including qualifications without an exam i.e. N4s, NPAs and individual unit awards.
June 24, 2024
by A QUIGLEY
0 comments
SQA Results 2024
Dear Parents & Carers,
Please find an important update re. the above which was issued to all pupils via Glow mail.
Dear SQA Candidates,
Please find some important information below regarding your SQA Results.
SQA Results Day 2024
Your SQA Certificate will be delivered to your Home Address on Tuesday 6th August 2024. The SQA will send the certificate to the address the school holds for you.
If you have moved house or changed address, you must inform the school office as soon as possible and provide up to date address details. Otherwise, your certificate will go to the wrong address and you will have to pay SQA for a replacement.
