Qualifications you can achieve at school

New qualifications have been developed to support Curriculum for Excellence, which introduced a new way of learning to schools and Colleges in 2010.

Most schools in Highland offer a range of qualifications and subjects to suit individual needs, such as:

National 1 and National 2 - previously Access 1 and Access 2
National 3 - previously Access 3 and equivalent to Standard grade (foundation level)
National 4 - previously Standard Grade (General level) and equivalent to Intermediate 1
National 5 - previously Standard Grade (Credit level) and equivalent to Intermediate 2
Higher - to be replaced by a new Higher in August 2014/15
Advanced Higher - to be replaced by a new Advanced Higher in August 2015/16

In Schools the new qualifications will run alongside some of the current qualifications initially. The final exam results for Standard Grade were issued in August 2013. The final results for the old Highers were issues in August 2015.

Some schools also offer:

Scottish Baccalaureate
National Progression Awards (NPAs)
SVQs
Skills for Work
Other vocational qualifications that involve an element of Work Experience

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications framework provides an overview of these qualifications and their level in relation to other qualifications and a timescale for implementation.

Employers also value Youth Awards such as:

Duke of Edinburgh
ASDAN
Dynamic Youth
Saltire (formerly Millenium Volunteering Awards)

For further information about these awards and others available - see our page on Youth Awards

If you want to find out about the courses and subjects that each school has to offer please contact the individual school directly - Schools in the Highland

Some schools also have links with Colleges and other Learning Providers to offer distance learning opportunities additional to those available in school - for further information check out distance learning in our learning choices section.