The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

School Certificate was an educational attainment standard

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

, established in 1918 by the Secondary Schools Examinations Council (SSEC). The School Certificate Examination (often called the "Junior Certificate" or "Juniors") was usually taken at age 16. Performance in each subject was graded as: Fail, Pass, Credit or Distinction. Students had to gain six passes, including English and Mathematics, to obtain a certificate. To obtain a "

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

exemption" one had to obtain at least a credit in five subjects, including English, Mathematics, Science and a language. Those who failed could retake the examination. Some students who passed then stayed on at school to take the Higher School Certificate (often called the "Senior Certificate" or "Seniors") at age 18. The School Certificate was abolished after the GCE O-Level was introduced in 1951. The School Certificate also existed in a number of

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

countries such as Australia and Singapore at various times.

International General Certificate of Secondary Education The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainme ...

(IGCSE), which is offered with or instead of O-Levels internationally *

General Certificate of Education The General Certificate of Education (GCE) is a subject-specific family of academic qualifications used in awarding bodies in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Crown dependencies and a few Commonwealth countries. For some time, the Scottish e ...

(GCE), which comprises O-Levels and A-levels

References

Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom {{UK-edu-stub

See also

References