Tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland will today celebrate record exam results, putting more pressure on the country�s university system.

Tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland will today celebrate record exam results, putting more pressure on the country's university system.

As pupils across the country receive their results, Scotland's exam body announced that Advanced Higher, Higher, Standard Grade and Intermediate pass rates had all risen to their highest levels.

While the results will be welcomed by pupils and parents, the record year will fuel fears that thousands of Scottish pupils could miss out on university places after an unprecedented increase in applications to higher education.

As The Herald reported on Monday, applications to Scottish universities have risen by 2000 - or 6% - as a result of the scarcity of jobs in the current recession.

Despite the increase, the Scottish Government has decided not to fund an expansion in university places, which could leave many qualified pupils without the opportunity to attend.

Ken Cunningham, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, which represents secondary heads and deputes, said: "It is perverse that a good set of exam results like this will lead to a greater clamour for places at universities.

"Generally there is an issue about the availability of places in higher education and the expectations of young people today, and if there is a squeeze this year it will highlight that again."

The rising pass rates may also lead to suggestions that the exam system is being "dumbed down", although the Scottish Qualifications Authority said the improvement was down to the hard work of pupils and teachers.

Overall, the SQA figures showed pass rates at Higher rose from 73.4% in 2008 to 74.2% this year, while Standard Grade passes rose from 98% to 98.5% over the same period.

The proportion passing Advanced Higher was up from 75.8% to 77.8%.

There was good news for those concerned about the popularity of science, with an increase in the number of pupils sitting chemistry and physics Highers.

Those sitting biology Higher showed a marginal decline of less than one percentage point.

The take-up of modern languages, which has also caused concern, was not so positive, with an overall decline of more than 2% in the numbers sitting French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian.

Another positive was the increase in the number of pupils studying Advanced Highers, which declined in 2007 amid concerns over lack of school resources.

In 2009, there were 19,645 entries for Advanced Higher, compared to 18,854 the previous year. The Higher English pass rate rose from 68.3% to 68.9% while that for Higher maths fell from 71.6% to 69.7.

Fiona Hyslop, the Education Secretary, said the results were testament to the abilities of Scotland's young people and cause for optimism about the nation's economic future.

"I want to congratulate Scottish pupils for their achievements today. I know the certificates received represent months of dedication and hard work by them and their teachers, combined with the support of parents and friends," she said.

"These results clearly demonstrate that our young people have high ambitions and are achieving success. By continuing to support Scotland's reputation for skills and learning, these results will help make Scotland the place to do business, even in these difficult economic times."

Dr Janet Brown, chief executive of the SQA added: "These results underline significant achievement in a stable examination system which continues to be widely respected and highly regarded. Nearly 160,000 learners will be receiving the tangible results of their efforts over the past year and for the vast majority the future is bright."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman defended the decision not to expand higher education, saying Scottish universities had not seen the same scale of increase in applications as in England, where places have been increased.

She also highlighted the fact that the government had funded additional places in colleges, which she said were better suited to react "quickly and flexibly" to the recession by providing courses targeted at those recently redundant or looking to reskill or upskill in a difficult jobs market.

"Universities generally offer longer, higher-level courses, and it is therefore more difficult for them to offer the same type of recession-focused opportunities," she said.