The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has today refused to apologise for the system it put in place this year to replace the exams.

While it regretted the experience of some pupils, the SQA said it received a commission from the Scottish government and it did its “very best to deliver”.

Fiona Robertson, SQA chief executive, and Gill Stewart, the body’s director of qualifications, appeared today in front of the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee - the day after education secretary John Swinney took the decision to base the results this year on teacher estimates unless the moderation process had resulted in an upgrade.

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The move meant the moderation process put in place by the SQA was essentially thrown out exactly a week after results day following concerns about its impact on pupils living in disadvantaged areas, in particular.

Now the SQA’s system for moderating results had been “overturned”, the Scottish Conservatives’ education spokesman, Jamie Greene, invited the body to apologise, highlighting that both Mr Swinney and first minister Nicola Sturgeon had already done so, but no apology was forthcoming.

Ms Robertson said: “Of course it was very difficult to see the reaction to last week’s results but we were asked to fulfil a role and part of that role was to maintain standards across Scotland and, while I fully understand the feelings of young people and the strength of those feelings, it was important...I explain the basis upon which we undertook that work.

“It was a commission from ministers after the exams had been cancelled in a very extraordinary set of circumstances - I think we would all acknowledge - and I think we did our very best to deliver. But I also fully appreciate that - as I highlighted in my opening statement - young people felt that their achievements had been taken outwith their control. I absolutely get that and of course, I regret how young people have felt about this process.

“However, I think it’s also important to highlight that I have had messages from many young people over the last week saying how pleased they are with the outcome so I think it’s absolutely important to temper quite clearly the feelings from young people across Scotland who feel they have been unfairly treated with the delight from others who feel they have got awards that reflect their achievements.”

During her evidence to the committee, Ms Robertson also revealed that Mr Swinney received the outcome of this year’s results on 30 July - five days before they were made public. And when asked if she was comfortable standards had been maintained this year, Ms Robertson said it would not be possible to compare this year’s results to future results because “the basis on which the awards have been made is different”, but she understood why the focus was on young people.