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National Dossier on Education and Training in Scotland: Summary 2003
4. POST COMPULSORY SECONDARY EDUCATION
4.1 Organisation of the School
Post-compulsory secondary education is from sixteen to eighteen years old, and pupils usually remain in the same institution for that purpose. The final stage (S5 and S6) is one of greater specialisation and forms upper secondary education.
The aim of this stage in secondary education is to build on achievements in the earlier years, to prepare pupils for future years, whether in work, society and/or further study, and to offer a broad and rewarding educational experience.
There are no restrictions on pupils staying on at school beyond the age of sixteen although schools usually assume minimum standards for certain courses and will advise pupils whether it is sensible for them to take a longer or shorter time to achieve their intended awards. Although upper secondary education offers two years of schooling between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, not all pupils remain for two years. Some leave to take up employment, training or further study. Some pupils proceed to higher education after only one year in upper secondary education if they have gained sufficient passes in their Higher Grade examinations taken in S5. Others may leave to follow courses at further education colleges. Upper secondary education is offered in most secondary schools and also in further education colleges.
4.2 Curriculum
In upper secondary education many pupils continue to study the same subjects as they studied in previous years but the level of study is higher and the number of subjects studied for the Higher and Advanced Higher levels of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate is likely to be no more than five. A small number of subjects are also likely to be offered for the first time, for example, additional foreign languages. A broad range of options is generally available and freedom of choice and flexibility is usually very much greater than in previous years. There are also fewer restrictions, such as having to take a subject within a compulsory mode, although almost all schools insist that a course be taken in English or in communication studies.
4.3 Assessment/Certification
For Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) courses at Intermediate to Advanced Higher levels, assessment is carried out within the school to determine whether students (in school or further education) have met nationally agreed criteria. The student has to complete an assessment for each unit of the course, set by the teacher or lecturer to national standards. The student also has to undertake an external course assessment, which could be a written examination or course work assessed by an external examiner, covering work contained in all the units of the course. The external assessment determines the student's grade on a scale of A to C.
The Higher level examinations of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate, taken in the fifth and sixth years of secondary education (S5 and S6) at about age 17 or 18, is the target for many school pupils who aim to enter the professions or to go into higher education. Pupils who currently achieve a Credit level award in the SQC (Standard Grade) in S4 normally sit the Higher level examinations in most of the same subjects after one more year and may proceed to take an Advanced Higher in some subjects one year later. Those pupils who achieve a General level award at Standard Grade in S4 are usually considered to require two further years before they sit Higher level. Alternatively they may study for the Intermediate 2 level in S5, then for the Higher level in S6.
The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) currently incorporates all the mainstream Scottish qualifications from National Qualifications Access level to Higher Education Doctorate level. See section 3B.3 for a fuller description of the SCQF.
4.4 Progression / Guidance / Transition Arrangements ( see section 3B.4)
4.5 Teachers ( see section 3B.5)
4.6 Statistics ( see section 3B.6)
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