The Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) is the successor to the Scottish Certificate of Education and the Record of Education and Training in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and is the main educational qualification awarded to students in secondary, further, and vocational education. The SQC is awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority

Scottish Qualifications Authority

The Scottish Qualifications Authority is a non-departmental public body responsible for accreditation and awarding. It is partly funded by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Scottish Government, employing 750 staff, based in Glasgow and Dalkeith...

. It forms part of the wider array of qualifications available in the Scottish education system

Education in Scotland

Scotland has a long history of universal provision of public education, and the Scottish education system is distinctly different from the other countries of the United Kingdom...

, including Scottish Vocational Qualification

Scottish Vocational Qualification

A Scottish Vocational Qualification, or SVQ, is a certificate of vocational education in Scotland. SVQs are available to people of all ages. SVQs are developed by Sector Skills Councils, in partnership with industry and awarding bodies...

s, Higher National Certificate

Higher National Certificate

A Higher National Certificate is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom.In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HNC is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel, and in Scotland, an HNC is a Higher National awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority...

s and Higher National Diploma

Higher National Diploma

A Higher National Diploma is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities, and is considered equivalent to the first or second year of a university degree course....

s. Each level is fully integrated with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework

Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework is the national credit transfer system for all levels of qualifications in Scotland...

 and the three upper levels are awarded UCAS Tariff Points

UCAS

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is the British admission service for students applying to university and college. UCAS is primarily funded by students who pay a fee when they apply and a capitation fee from universities for each student they accept..-Location:UCAS is based near...

.

The SQC recognises performance in National Qualifications, Higher National Qualifications, Scottish Vocational Qualifications and other awards. As it is not part of the National Qualifications Framework

National Qualifications Framework

The National Qualifications Framework is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....

 of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, it is not available to state schools there, but students from other nations do study for the qualification.

National Qualifications Levels and grades

National Qualifications are available at several levels, with the possible grades

Grade (education)

Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...

 and rough GCSE

General Certificate of Secondary Education

The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...

 and A-level equivalent shown:

SCQF Level	SQC Level	Grades	UCAS Tariff	GCSE/A-level
7	Advanced Higher Advanced Higher (Scottish) The Advanced Higher is an optional qualification which forms part of the Scottish secondary education system. It is normally taken by students aged around 16-18 after they have completed Highers, which in turn are the main university entrance qualification...
		A	130	Greater than A-level at A
		B	110	Greater than A-level at B
		C	90	Greater than A-level at C
		D	72	Greater than A-level at D
6	Higher Higher (Scottish) In Scotland the Higher is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education...
		A	80	Greater than A-level at D
		B	65	Greater than A-level at D and AS at A
		C	50	AS-level at B
		D	36	Greater than A-level at E and AS at C
5	Intermediate 2 Intermediate 2 Intermediate 2 level is Level 5 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. Though equivalent to the Credit Level Standard Grade, there is an element of debate to this as it is perceived to be more difficult in some subjects, but less in others....
		A	42	Greater than A-level at E and AS at C
		B	35	Greater than AS at B
		C	28	Greater than AS at C
		D	-	-
4	Intermediate 1 Intermediate 1 Intermediate 1 is an educational qualification in Scotland on the Scottish Qualifications Authority Scottish Qualifications Certificate achievement ladder similar to General Level at Standard Grades; it is the next step after Access 3...
		A	-	-
		B	-	-
		C	-	-
		D	-	-
3	Access 3
		A	-	-
		B	-	-
		C	-	-
		D	-	-

See also

• Education in Scotland
  Education in Scotland
  Scotland has a long history of universal provision of public education, and the Scottish education system is distinctly different from the other countries of the United Kingdom...
  
  
• Learning and Teaching Scotland
  Learning and Teaching Scotland
  Learning and Teaching Scotland is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, formed by the merger of the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum and the Scottish Council for Educational Technology...
  
  
• Scottish Executive
  Scottish Executive
  The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
  
  

External links

• Scottish Qualifications Authority
• Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework