Secondary education in Scotland can take up to 6 years, covering ages 11 to 18, from S1 to S6. Education is not compulsory after the age of 16, the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

. ''Note: Some ages vary because of the child's birth year.'' In

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, 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 A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

school or a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

school, according to their family's beliefs. Pupils in Scotland attend the same secondary school throughout their education; no

sixth form colleges A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Dip ...

operate in Scotland, as in other

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

in the United Kingdom.

Senior 1 to Senior 6

The first and second years of secondary school ''(abbreviated to S1 and S2)'' are a continuation of the

Curriculum for Excellence Curriculum for Excellence is the national curriculum for Scottish schools for learners from the ages 3–18. It was developed out of a 2002 consultation exercise – the 'National Debate on Education' – undertaken by the-then Scottish Execut ...

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 a class that could be a higher class. After these qualifications, some students leave to gain employment or attend

further education colleges Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

; however these days most students study for

Highers In the Scottish secondary education system, the Higher () is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualifications ...

, 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 The Advanced Higher 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 Advanced Higher was in 2001. It is normally ...

are studied. Due to the nature of schooling in Scotland, undergraduate honours degree programmes are four years long as matriculation is normally 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.

School qualifications

History

The vast majority of Scottish pupils take

Scottish Qualifications Certificate 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 ed ...

qualifications provided by the

Scottish Qualifications Authority The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. It is partly funded by the Ed ...

(SQA). Historically, pupils sat

O-grade The Ordinary Grade (commonly known as the "O-Grade") of the Scottish Certificate of Education is a now-discontinued qualification which was studied for as part of the Scottish secondary education system. It could be considered broadly equivalent ...

s in S3- S4 followed by Higher Grades in S5 and

CSYS In the Scottish secondary education system, the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS) was the highest level of qualification available to pupils from 1968 until circa 2000. Overseen by the Scottish Examination Board (SEB), it was taken by stu ...

in S6. From 1986-2013, most pupils took

Standard Grade Standard Grades were Scotland's educational qualifications for students aged around 14 to 16 years. Introduced in 1986, the Grades were replaced in 2013 with the Scottish Qualifications Authority's National exams in a major shake-up of Scotland's ...

s (but some schools offered Intermediates instead) in S3- S4, and

in S5. For those who wish to remain at school for the final year (S6), more Highers and

Advanced Higher The Advanced Higher 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 Advanced Higher was in 2001. It is normally ...

s (formerly

) in S6 could be taken.

Intermediate 1 Intermediate 1 ( gd, Meadhan Ìre 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 ...

and

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, ...

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 was easier than General, and Intermediate 2 harder than Credit – could also be taken in lieu of any of the aforementioned qualifications.

National 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 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 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 ...

Trades unions

Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland The Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland (AHDS) is a trade union which represents head teachers, deputy head teachers and principal teachers from nursery, primary and ASN schools in Scotland. it has over 2,100 members. History ...

Educational Institute of Scotland The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is the oldest teachers' trade union in the world, having been founded in 1847 when dominies became concerned about the effect of changes to the system of education in Scotland on their professional s ...

* School Leaders Scotland *

Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association The Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) is Scotland's second largest teachers' union. It was created to focus on secondary education issues, in reaction to the perception of national influence exercised by the primary education se ...

References