Hundreds of candidates will log on to get results

The figure includes 400 students in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles who were able to access their results on the internet on Monday.

The remaining grades should be received through the post as usual by candidates on Tuesday.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said that more people had sat more courses and exams this year.

Candidates getting results as part of the online pilot were sent a text message on Monday telling them their grades were ready.

They then used a unique password and code to log on to a secure SQA site where they viewed their own results.

SQA EXAM STATISTICS Number of candidates: 150,050 Number of individual entries: 752,975 Number of Higher entries: 158,053 Number of Standard Grade entries: 415,845

By taking part in the project, they have received their results a day before most of Scotland's students.

The online service will be evaluated later this year with the SQA considering extending it in the future.

Meanwhile, the total number of candidates has hit a record, with the Royal Mail set to deliver 150,050 envelopes on Tuesday.

The SQA said the high number of entries was due to an increase in S4 pupils on last year.

The authority said that the number of individual entries generated by candidates had also gone through a major milestone, with more than three-quarters of a million processed for the first time.

'Increased accessibility'

All levels have seen an increase in uptake, with the exception of Highers, which dropped by 6,000 this year.

The SQA said the explanation for this was the trend to move from Higher to the Intermediate levels.

Intermediates are being seen increasingly as more suitable for candidates who may have struggled at Higher level in the past.

SQA chief executive Anton Colella said: "We are seeing more people sitting more courses and exams this year.