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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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