Next year, the Scottish government is planning for students to once again sit external national exams after the coronavirus pandemic forced their cancellation for two years in a row, and now the Scottish Qualifications Authority has published the 2022 exam timetable.

Here, we look ahead to what will happen if all goes to plan - as well as the contingencies that have been put in place.

When do the 2022 exams start?

Tuesday 26 April.

Which subject is first up?

The first exam to take place is Higher politics, which consists of two papers. The first paper runs for one hour and 45 minutes and the second paper for one hour and 15 minutes, with a half hour break in-between.

When do the exams finish?

Wednesday 1 June - the last exam to be sat is Higher drama, which consists of one paper lasting two and a half hours.

When are the most popular Higher subjects - maths and English - sat?

Higher maths is sat on Friday 6 May and consists of two papers - the first is one hour and 15 minutes long and the second is one and a half hours long. National 5 maths is sat two days before, on Wednesday 4 May.

Higher English is sat on Wednesday 11 May and consists of two papers, which are sat for one and a half hours each. National 5 English is sat the following day, Thursday 12 May.

What’s the longest exam at Higher?

Higher philosophy - which takes place on Wednesday 25 May - is four hours long in total, split across two papers.

Will the exams definitely go ahead this year?

No. The Scottish government has said that the exams will go ahead if it is safe but it has also outlined two contingencies.

One is that if there is further disruption to education caused by Covid-19, there will be more adjustments made to courses and assessment - for instance, students could receive “advance notice of some topics which will feature in exams”.

If the exams are unable to go ahead because gatherings are prohibited, teachers will grade their pupils based on the assessment evidence gathered throughout the course of the normal school year.

After the race to gather assessment evidence last year - and the stress this caused students and teachers - the SQA is emphasising that “schools, colleges and training providers will not be required to carry out any additional assessments, as they did in 2020-21”.

When will pupils sitting exams in 2022 find out their results?

Results day is Tuesday 9 August.