National 4 courses are made up of units, including an added value unit which assesses learners’ performance across the course. These units are assessed as pass or fail by a teacher or lecturer and learners need to pass all units, including the added value unit, to achieve the qualification.
Successful completion of a National 4 could lead to studying
National 5
NPA Level 5
Skills for Work Level 5
National Certificate (College)
National 5 courses are assessed through a question paper (exam) or coursework, or both — most of which will be marked by SQA. The courses are graded A to D or ‘no award’.
Successful completion of a National 5 course could lead to:
Higher (recommended if you have an A or B)
NPA Level 6
Foundation Apprenticeships
National Certificate (College)
Modern Apprenticeship (work based learning)
Higher courses are made up of units, which focus on different areas of the course. All Higher courses lead to a course assessment. The course assessment involves a question paper (exam) or coursework, or both — most of which will be marked by SQA. In some subjects, coursework is marked by a teacher. The courses are graded A to D or ‘no award’.
Young people considering applying to university should be working towards leaving school with a minimum of 4/5 Highers. For this reason it is important that you plan your senior phase pathway carefully to ensure you are giving yourself the opportunity to achieve this. It is important that you do your research when it comes to university entry requirements as these vary between courses and universities.
Successful completion of a Higher course could lead to further study in:
Advanced Higher (recommended if you have an A or B and wish to continue studying in this subject at University)
Additional Highers
NPA Level 6
Foundation Apprenticeships
HNC/HND (College)
Modern Apprenticeship (work based learning)
Advanced Higher courses are made up of units, which focus on different areas of the course. All Advanced Higher courses lead to a course assessment. The course assessment involves a question paper (exam) or coursework, or both — most of which will be marked by SQA. In some subjects, coursework is marked by a teacher. The courses are graded A to D or ‘no award’.
Young people considering applying to university should be aware that the grade you achieve in your Advanced Higher course will cancel out the Higher grade you have already achieved. The course will not be 'double counted' as it is in the same subject area. Be aware of this when choosing your subjects to ensure you meet the minimum entry requirements.
Advanced Higher courses are almost always completed in S6 and can lead to further study in:
Higher National Diploma (College)
Undergraduate Degree (University)
Technical Apprenticeship at SCQF level 8 (work-based learning)
National Qualifications are one of the most important types of qualification in Scotland, and almost everyone leaving school or college today has one or more National Qualifications. They are mainly taken by learners in the Senior Phase of secondary school (S4 - S6) and learners in colleges, including adult learners.
They cover a range of subjects and are designed to develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed beyond the classroom; whether progressing to other SQA qualifications, training, employment or university. Find out more here.
Progression in S5 and S6 from N4 to N5 or from N5 to Higher is the target for many. Some individuals may go straight to Higher in S4, while Advanced Higher will be the appropriate choice for some in S6.
There is more focus on skills development compared to the previous qualifications, however, the current qualifications still place a great deal of importance on knowledge and understanding.
The current National Qualifications have also been designed to share a similar structure at each level. This means there is a smoother progression between levels, e.g. when progressing from National 5 to Higher.
The majority of pupils at Oldmachar have achieved a National 4 or 5 qualifications in their chosen subjects by the end of S4. Some may not be able to cope with this in all their subjects and so presentation for a National 1, 2 or 3 qualification may be appropriate at this stage.
You will learn as you have been doing in S1 through to S3 but at a higher level. You will need to work actively and find out things for yourself using worksheets, books, video recordings, computers, and so on. All the time you will be learning skills that will help you to solve problems, rather than just memorising facts.
You will often work in groups, or in pairs, learning to co-operate with other pupils in finding answers to problems; but of course, you will still have to work on your own some of the time.
For Levels up to National 4, the assessments are conducted within the school. Moderation or checking by the Scottish Qualification Authority will ensure even standards across the country. For National 5-7, your final examinations in May are marked by SQA externally appointed markers. Some courses also have internal components which are included in your final grade. It is important to work well over the year and not just at exam times. All these grades are then combined by the Qualifications Authority to give your final result.
Courses will continue to contain work that is assessed and marked throughout the year by teachers as it is at present. For example, teachers will continue to mark assessments such as PE performance and English listening and talking assessments.
These are ‘Units’ of work that are marked as pass or fail in all National Qualifications. Individual subjects up to National 4 levels will not be graded but marked overall by pass or fail. If a learner fails an end of year assessment/exam, they will receive credit for what they have achieved at that level. This is similar to what currently happens with a number of our qualifications. At National 5, Higher (National 6) and Advanced Higher (National 7) the end of course exam will be graded as A to D.
If a learner fails this assessment, they will receive credit for the ‘Units’ they have achieved at this level. Again, this is similar to what has happened with Intermediate and Higher assessments in the past.
You couldn't be more wrong! You have to work all the time and are being assessed by your teacher all the time. Enquiring, problem-solving and many other activities are going on in class throughout your course, and you can't pick up a book and simply catch up that way. That's why it's important not to miss parts of the course through avoidable absence - some of the work simply can't be done again, or covered easily at home.
Yes! Show them the skills you are learning and discuss your courses with them. Ask them to help you with things you are learning - they will be very interested to see how different school now is compared to their own school days. They may help you to arrange a quiet area with a suitable writing surface for study and homework and they'll help you to remember all the important deadlines you will have to meet during the next session.
