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It’s the end of April, which means that it is time for Scotland’s annual exam machine to be cranked into action, ready for the task of grinding up more than 130,000 teenagers.

Naturally, everyone will be hoping that things go as smoothly as possible, but that’s very much a relative term here given the track record of both the SQA and the Scottish Government. In reality, it often feels like the best thing to do at this time of year is prepare for whatever the next major failure and national scandal might be.

Don’t believe me? Have a look at the SQA’s page on Wikipedia and you’ll find a whole section titled “Controversy”. It contains references to problems in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024 – and it isn’t even close to being an exhaustive list. In truth, the trail of scandals runs with remarkable consistency pretty much all the way back to the exam board’s formation.

More recently, you might also remember the months-long scandal that was sparked by the SQA’s handling of Higher History marking during the last exam period, or the fact that critical marking materials for National 5 History this year have already been compromised.

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