Remarkable success for e-Sgoil Gaelic students

e-Sgoil candidates from across Scotland who sat Gaelic an Gàidhlig SQA courses received their SQA results last month with a remarkable 74% of National 5, 88% of Higher and 75% of Advanced Higher candidates achieving an A grade.

The 64 candidates (a mix of school pupils and adult students) were presented for Learner and Fluent Gaelic courses at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level with 61 candidates achieving a pass in their respective courses.

In order to facilitate this, UHI North, West and Hebrides worked in partnership with e-Sgoil as the SQA presenting centre for the National, Higher and Advanced Higher Gaelic qualifications.  

Lydia Rohmer, Principal and Chief Executive, UHI North, West and Hebrides, said: “Congratulations to all our Gaelic learners on their success in National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses. We are proud to be working in strategic partnership with e-Sgoil to nationally widen access to Gaelic through online learning. This collaboration is helping to remove barriers and create opportunities for learners to study Gaelic from anywhere, and to progress further in their studies through UHI. The high level of student attainment is testament to the quality of online delivery. Meal an naidheachd air ar luchd-ionnsachaidh air fad airson na choilean iad!”

All candidates studied online with courses delivered remotely by three e-Sgoil teachers based throughout Scotland.  

The availability of these online courses facilitated access to SQA Gaelic qualifications for pupils and adults who may otherwise not have had access to Gaelic courses, giving them the opportunity to learn and progress towards fluency in the language. 

Speaking about the results, e-Sgoil Gaelic DHT Laura Howitt said “It’s so encouraging to see another set of great results and such a large number of candidates achieving at the highest level. I congratulate them on their dedication and hard work. It is delightful to see, once again, barriers removed for those who want to learn Gaelic and e-Sgoil continues to prove the value of online learning for Gaelic language learners."

The 64 candidates included 50 adult learners. The group of adult students contained a mix of those learning for personal interest and those with family links to Gaelic or family members in Gaelic Medium Education. Some candidates have expressed an interest in using Gaelic in the workplace in the future.   

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “These impressive results highlight the benefits of e-Sgoil’s online courses, which are making Gaelic lessons more accessible to people throughout the country.

To support the language’s continued growth, we are working closely with e-Sgoil to ensure that courses are available for people to learn Gaelic online. We are also providing an additional £5.7 million for initiatives to strengthen Gaelic’s growth in 2025-26.”

Registration for e-Sgoil Gaelic courses for the 2025/26 session is now complete with over 60 students registered again this session, including many of last year's students looking to progress on to the next level.  The 2025/26 e-Sgoil Gaelic cohort is made up of learners from all over Scotland, ranging in age from 15 to 90.