35-809: In the Scottish secondary education system , the Higher ( Scottish Gaelic : Àrd Ìre ) is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority . It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education (SCE). Both are normally referred to simply as " Highers ". The modern Higher
70-577: A Special or Honours Degree . Following the creation of the Scottish Qualifications Authority by the merger of the Scottish Examinations Board and SCOTVEC , efforts were made to unite the different levels of vocational and academic qualifications. The aim was to make it easier for employers and education institutions to understand the level to which a person had been educated. A secondary aim
105-463: A points at b level". Credit points obtained from study at lower levels can be counted towards a qualification, whether by study within the institution or by awarding through transfer, but this is at the discretion of the awarding institution. Credit values may differ for medical, veterinary and dental science degrees and certain undergraduate and postgraduate combined study (integrated masters). Scottish higher education institutions had long used
140-603: A "NAB" as they are drawn from the National Assessment Bank), and a terminal examination which serves to determine the final grade. To obtain a qualification, all the internal units for that qualification must be passed, and a passing grade must be obtained on the terminal examination. It is possible to sit the examination only, in which case "Exam Only" will be recorded on the Certificate. In some schools, all units must be passed (with two or less attempts) or
175-407: 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
210-522: A few percentage points depending on the difficulty of the exam. The ultimate determination of grade boundaries depends upon the quantity of raw marks that would demonstrate achievement of criteria laid out in course specifications. The following is a list of courses currently available at Higher level: Scottish secondary education system Secondary education in Scotland can take up to 6 years, covering ages 11 to 18, from S1 to S6 . Education
245-577: A further extension qualification, the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies , which was awarded on a separate certificate. As a result of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 a series of Revised Higher Grade courses was put in place. When listed on the SCE the subject name would be followed by (Revised). The revision process changed the curriculum content and the method of examination with
280-459: A pupil was classed as a mature student (aged over 25). In 1999, a reform of the examination system known as " Higher Still " took place. In the process, a new style of Higher examination system was introduced in Scotland . The new Higher was designed to operate within a framework of qualifications known as National Qualifications . This was designed to link the most basic examination offered by
315-505: A range from CC to AAAAAA depending on the course and university. UK universities outside of Scotland may require students to study to Advanced Higher level, given that the Higher is equivalent to AS-level on the UCAS tariff. As Scottish university courses traditionally have a duration of 4 years, the loss of one year's schooling is compensated by an additional university year. The flexibility of
350-438: A result of the Higher reforms, every Higher course now consists of: Formerly, a candidate must pass all Unit Assessments as well as the final Course Assessment to pass a course. A student who fails a Unit Assessment is allowed one re-sit opportunity on a fresh, unseen assessment but may only get a second re-sit opportunity in exceptional circumstances. In theory, therefore, a student who passed all but one Unit, and went on to pass
385-611: Is Level 6 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework . In 1888, the Scottish Leaving Certificate was established in response to the terms of the Education Act of 1872. It was designed to have higher and lower levels assessed as individual subjects including Mathematics, Ancient or Modern Foreign Language, Science, etc. The higher level aimed at university entrance and the lower to suit
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#1732776747888420-742: Is a Co-opted Director representing employer interests and another co-option is the Chair of the SCQFP Quality Committee. The Framework has 12 levels. Post Graduate Certificate Professional Development Award National Progression Award, Professional Development Award National Progression Award Intermediate 2 (discontinued) Credit Standard Grade (discontinued) National Progression Award Intermediate 1 (discontinued) General Standard Grade (discontinued) National Progression Award Access 3 (discontinued) Foundation Standard Grade (discontinued) Study undertaken at any level
455-627: Is given a credit value. Obtaining a qualification will require a certain number of credit points of study to have been obtained. Each credit is equivalent to a notional 10 hours of study. The Scottish credit point requirements can be converted into European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credit points as follows, or by simply halving the Scottish values to arrive at the European equivalent: Entry requirements at institutions are usually expressed in terms of both points and level, e.g. "
490-533: 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
525-509: Is not modularised, given that the internal assessments do not assess fixed blocks of knowledge, as in the sciences, rather, they assess specific skills and can be delivered at different points in the year. The modularisation of the Higher examination and the other qualifications under the "Higher Still" umbrella is also not the same as that of the English A-level , in which terminal examinations are themselves arranged into modules. Under
560-502: The SCOTCAT ( Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer ) system for equating courses from different institutions. SCOTCAT had three levels. Level 1 was equivalent to University 1st Year, an HNC or a Certificate of Higher Education (Cert HE). Level 2 was equivalent to University 2nd Year, an HND or a Diploma of Higher Education . Level 3 was equivalent to Years 3 and 4 at a Scottish University, and generally these credits lead to
595-457: The SQA (Access 1) with the most difficult one ( Advanced Higher ) on a continuous "ladder of achievement". Qualifications offered under the "Higher Still" framework have a common structure, typically consisting of a mixture of summative and formative assessment. Qualifications usually consist of units of work ending in a basic competency test that functions as an internal assessment (commonly known as
630-431: The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework . SCQF The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF ) is the national credit transfer system for all levels of qualifications in Scotland. Awards are classified under the framework at levels , and study undertaken at that level is valued in credit points . The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership promotes lifelong learning in
665-808: 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
700-518: The 5th Year of secondary school (often referred to as S5, and entered at age 15 or 16). The SCE Higher progressed on from the SCE Ordinary Grade . Pupils studied for one academic year (in practice two terms – Winter and Spring), sitting exams in the May of S5. The majority of courses were examined by written papers with practical work present in subjects such as Art and Design. There existed
735-537: The Framework and extend the recognition of informal and non-formal learning; fully develop and promote the Framework as a lifelong learning tool; and develop relationships with other frameworks internationally. Its members are the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education ; College Development Network ; the Scottish Qualifications Authority ; and Universities Scotland . In addition, there
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#1732776747888770-767: The General Medical Council entrance requirements. This was later revised to higher level for entry to university and lower for banking insurance and business. Between 1963 and 1982 Higher Grades were awarded by the Scottish Certificate of Education Examination Board (SCEEB), which later became the Scottish Examination Board (SEB), and was the historical terminal exam for the majority of Scottish secondary school pupils, especially those seeking work in skilled industries or progress onto higher education. They were usually taken in
805-485: The Scottish system, the final examination is still essentially synoptic in nature and draw from all units. Additionally, the internal units do not contribute to the grade awarded. Higher became Level 6 on the SCQF and is now a National Course . The administrative structure accompanying the new system was not entirely successful, and 2000 saw a marking fiasco that cost the head of the authority his job and severely damaged
840-408: The [National Qualifications] framework means that candidates may take a mixture of Higher courses and National 5 courses in S5, with a view to studying the Higher equivalent in S6, thus gaining university qualifications across two years. This system maximises the opportunities available to candidates of differing abilities. An advantage of the system is that candidates will apply to University in S6 on
875-403: The basis of determined Higher results. This avoids the problem of having to apply on the basis of predicted grade results, and eliminates much uncertainty involved in the setting of conditional offers. All National Qualification Higher subjects follow the same modular structure and grading system. It is a common mistake to confuse vocational Higher National Courses with NQ Higher courses. As
910-613: The career of the Education Minister, Sam Galbraith . Thousands of pupils received incorrect or late results, leading to difficulties for the pupils, UCAS (the University and Colleges Admissions Service) and Higher Education Institutions , as many pupils did not receive accurate exam results until after the universities' academic year had started. The most able candidates in S5 typically take five Higher subjects, and matriculation requirements for courses are specified from
945-721: The country. Through the SCQF, learners can gain a better understanding of qualifications and plan their future learning. The SCQF is in the custody of, and managed by, the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQF Partnership). Since its creation in November 2006 the SCQF Partnership, which is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, has aimed to: ensure that, where appropriate, all assessed learning and qualifications are included within
980-400: 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
1015-437: The final exam, would not be awarded the overall pass for the course until they had completed the outstanding Unit in a subsequent year. Higher examinations, in common with all National Qualification levels, have 5 grades: A, B, C, D and No Award. On standardised mark scales, a D-grade represents scores of 40-49%. Furthermore, each is given tariff points towards the UCAS system. These are general grade boundaries and will vary by
1050-427: The majority of Higher Grade courses changing to two terminal papers with a coursework element. Paper A was a short answer question paper and Paper B required longer, more in-depth answers. Coursework could account for anything from 0% ( English ) to 30% ( Computing Studies ) of the final mark. The majority of Scottish Higher Education Institutions were generally only accepting Revised Higher Grade for entry, except where
1085-614: 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
Higher (Scottish) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1120-1175: 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
1155-437: The student is not allowed to sit the final national exam. The system was criticised at the time of introduction as objections were made to the modularisation of subjects such as English and Art which require an accumulation of critical and productive skills over a full year rather than the passing of discrete modules, which was seen as a system much better suited to scientific subjects. However, strictly speaking, English teaching
1190-475: 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
1225-443: Was to remove prejudice against vocational and non-traditional qualifications. Education and training providers in Scotland then agreed to create a common framework for all qualifications, both current and historical. This led to the development of a 12-level framework with courses, units, modules and clusters being placed at a specific level with a credit weighting. Changes have been made to Higher Education level courses to prepare
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