The Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) is the successor to the Scottish Certificate of Education and the Record of Education and Training, and is the main educational qualification awarded to students in secondary, further, and vocational education. The SQC is awarded by the

Scottish Qualifications Authority The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the Scottish public bodies, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educationa ...

. It forms part of the wider array of qualifications available in the Scottish education system, including

Scottish Vocational Qualification A Scottish Vocational Qualification, or SVQ, is a certificate of vocational education in Scotland. SVQs are available to people of all ages. SVQs are developed by Sector Skills Councils, in partnership with industry and awarding bodies. After t ...

Higher National Certificate A Higher National Certificate (HNC), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is a higher education/ further education qualification in the United Kingdom. Overview In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HNC is a BTEC qualifica ...

s and

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongside th ...

s. Each level is fully integrated with the

Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework 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 ...

and the three upper levels are awarded UCAS Tariff Points. The SQC recognises performance in National Qualifications, Higher National Qualifications, Scottish Vocational Qualifications and other awards. As it is not part of the National Qualifications Framework of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, it is not available to

state school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

s there, but students from other nations do study for the qualification.

National Qualifications Levels and grades

National Qualifications are available at several levels, with the possible grades and rough

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

and

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

equivalent shown: {, class="wikitable" ! SCQF Level ! SQC Level ! Grades ! New UCAS Tariff ! Old UCAS Tariff ! GCSE/A-level , - ! rowspan="5" , 7 , rowspan="5" ,

Advanced Higher The Advanced Higher (Scottish Gaelic: ''Sàr Àrd Ìre'') is an optional qualification which forms part of the Scottish secondary education system brought in to replace the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS). The first certification of Advan ...

, - , A , , 56, , 130 , , Equal to A-level at A* , - , B , , 48, , 110 , , Equal to A-level at A , - , C , , 40, , 90 , , Equal to A-level at B , - , D , , 32 , , 72 , , Equal to A-level at C , - ! rowspan="5" , 6 , rowspan="5" , Higher , - , A , , 33, , 80 , , Same as A-level at C , - , B , , 27, , 65 , , Greater than A-level at D and AS at A , - , C , , 21, , 50 , , Less than A-level at D and greater than A-level at E; same as AS-level at B , - , D , , 15, , 36 , , Less than A-level at E and greater than AS at D , - ! rowspan="5" , 5 , rowspan="5" ,

Intermediate 2 Intermediate 2 level is Level 5 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework; it was the level between Higher and Standard Grade Credit. It was initially available to pupils (generally in S5) who achieved a grade 3 or 4 Standard Grade but, ...

/ National 5 , - , A , , 0, , 42 , , Greater than A-level at E and AS at C , - , B , , 0, , 35 , , Greater than AS at D , - , C , , 0, , 28 , , Greater than AS at E , - , D , , -, , - , , - , - ! rowspan="5" , 4 , rowspan="5" ,

Intermediate 1 Intermediate 1 () is an educational qualification in Scotland on the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) achievement ladder similar to General Level at Standard Grades; it is the next step after Acce ...

/ National 4 , - , A , , -, , - , , - , - , B , , -, , - , , - , - , C , , -, , - , , - , - , D , , -, , - , , - , - ! rowspan="5" , 3 , rowspan="5" , Access 3 / National 3 , - , A , , - , , - , , - , - , B , , - , , - , , - , - , C , , - , , - , , - , - , D , , - , , - , , -

External links

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
School qualifications Educational qualifications in Scotland Vocational education in Scotland

National Qualifications Levels and grades

See also

External links