14-611: In the Scottish secondary education system , the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies ( CSYS ) was the highest level of qualification available to pupils from 1968 until circa 2000. Overseen by the Scottish Examination Board (SEB), it was taken by students in their sixth year (final year) of secondary education (ages 16–18) and was available for a range of different subjects. Examinations were administered by
28-411: A Scottish university. Other exams that can be taken are National 5 's and National 4 's. Fifth Year is now an "optional" year which pupils choose to remain at school to be part of unless the student would enter the fifth year at an age less than 16 in which case they are required to stay on until the end of the winter term. Most pupils are 16 or 17 years of age by the end of their Fifth Year. Fifth Year
42-407: A class that could be a higher class. After these qualifications, some students leave to gain employment or attend further education colleges ; however these days most students study for Highers , of which five are usually studied. These take a year to complete, after which some students apply to university or stay on for S6 , where other Highers are gained, or Advanced Highers are studied. Due to
56-530: Is commonly known to be the most stressful school year in the Scottish education system due to the great increase in difficulty of the courses being taken as well as the increase the amount of work required to be completed. Fifth year is the first mandatory year of the Leaving Certificate cycle. It is usually preceded by the optional Transition Year . Most pupils are 17 or 18 years of age by
70-589: Is not compulsory after the age of 16, the age of majority in Scots law . Note: Some ages vary because of the child's birth year. In Scotland , students transfer from primary to secondary education at 11 or 12 years old. Pupils usually attend the same secondary school as their peers, as all secondaries have 'intake primaries'. Pupils attend either a non-denominational school or a Roman Catholic school, according to their family's beliefs. Pupils in Scotland attend
84-675: The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework . Senior 5 Fifth Year refers to the fifth year of schooling in secondary schools in Scotland and Ireland . It was also the traditional term for the same year group in England and Wales , until about 1990 when most schools replaced it with Year Eleven and Year Twelve . It is also equivalent to 11th grade. In Scotland this is also known as S5 . During this year pupils will generally sit Higher exams, essential for entry to
98-896: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). Historically, pupils sat O-grades in S3 - S4 followed by Higher Grades in S5 and CSYS in S6. From 1986-2013, most pupils took Standard Grades (but some schools offered Intermediates instead) in S3 - S4 , and Highers in S5. For those who wish to remain at school for the final year (S6) , more Highers and Advanced Highers (formerly CSYS ) in S6 could be taken. Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 qualifications – which were intended to be roughly equivalent to General and Credit Level Standard Grades respectively, but in practice (although they may vary from subject to subject), Intermediate 1
112-644: The SEB (and latterly by its successor, the Scottish Qualifications Authority , which absorbed and replaced it eventually). Unlike the Standard and Higher Grade examinations, it was not a part of the Scottish Certificate of Education . The CSYS followed on from Higher Grade examinations and was considered broadly equivalent to the English A-Level qualification. However, it never quite gained
126-400: The end of S5 , as Highers provide the entry requirements for Scottish universities, which have 4 year university terms, compared to 3 years for English universities. In recent times, it is more common for students to remain until S6 , taking further Highers and/or taking Advanced Highers or those going to universities outside of Scotland. All educational qualifications in Scotland are part of
140-614: The nature of schooling in Scotland, undergraduate honours degree programmes are four years long as matriculation had historically been done at the completion of Highers in S5 (age 16–17), which compares with three years for the rest of the UK. As well as instruction through the English language, there's also Gaelic medium education at some schools. The vast majority of Scottish pupils take Scottish Qualifications Certificate qualifications provided by
154-560: The same level of universal recognition as the Higher or A-Level. In particular, universities (at least in Scotland) rarely used it when considering potential students. The academic demands placed on students by these examinations were the highest of the Scottish secondary school examination system at that time. One important and distinguishing feature of the CSYS examinations (for some subjects)
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#1732771956720168-1175: The same secondary school throughout their education; no sixth form colleges operate in Scotland, as in other countries in the United Kingdom. The first and second years of secondary school (abbreviated to S1 and S2 ) are a continuation of the Curriculum for Excellence started in primary school, after which no set national approach is established. S3 is still considered to be with the Broad General Education (or BGE) phase. Some schools allow students to start to narrow their field of study, with exceptions for compulsory subjects such as English and Mathematics. In S4 , students undertake 6–9 subjects called Nationals, and at this stage, students tend to be presented at levels 3–5. Nationals should take one year to complete. National 3 has no external exam. National 4 and National 5 however are levels that start external exams. Some National 5 & 4 qualifications, such as Physical Education, also have no external exam. Rarely, S4 pupils take
182-475: Was easier than General, and Intermediate 2 harder than Credit – could also be taken in lieu of any of the aforementioned qualifications. From 2013 to 2014, Intermediates 1, 2 and Access 1–3 ceased to be in use. These qualifications were replaced by National qualifications that are designed to fit in with the Scottish Government's "Curriculum for Excellence" system. Pupils can go to university at
196-509: Was the inclusion of a dissertation and/or viva examination conducted by a visiting external examiner. The CSYS was replaced by the Advanced Higher examinations in 2000. This article relating to education in Scotland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Scottish secondary education system Secondary education in Scotland can take up to 6 years, covering ages 11 to 18, from S1 to S6 . Education
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