The
Advanced Higher is an optional qualification which forms part of the
ScottishScotland 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...
secondary educationSecondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
system. It is normally taken by students aged around 16-18 after they have completed
HighersIn 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 It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education...
, which in turn are the main university entrance qualification. Advanced Higher is the highest certificate offered by the Scottish Qualification Authority, as part of the
Scottish Credit and Qualifications FrameworkThe Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework is the national credit transfer system for all levels of qualifications in Scotland...
. An advanced higher is essentially a simulation of the first year of university in that particular subject - this is the reason that Advanced Highers can be used for second year University entry.
Universities within Scotland traditionally tended to take students with only
NQ HigherIn 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 It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education...
or A-level qualifications, but many have since begun to take students with qualifications gained elsewhere in Britain or, as with the
University of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, for example, an International Baccalaureate.
The Advanced Higher is Level 7 on the
Scottish Credit and Qualifications FrameworkThe Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework is the national credit transfer system for all levels of qualifications in Scotland...
.
History
Advanced Highers were introduced in 2001 to replace the
Certificate of Sixth Year StudiesPrior to the year 2000, the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies was the highest level of qualification available to pupils in the Scottish secondary education system....
(often abbreviated to
CSYS or just
SYS). The final CSYS exams were taken by students at the end of the 2001/02 educational year. In 2007 a noticeable decrease of 2.4% in those taking Advanced Highers has prompted concern in certain areas.
UCAS tariff
The
UCASThe 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...
tariff of valuing qualifications for university entry has increased its scores for Advanced Highers at A, B and C from 2010. Advanced Highers now attract more
UCASThe 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...
tariff points than A-Levels at the same grades.
A-levels and Advanced Highers
Some English Universities, such as Oxford University and Cambridge University, have begun to take into account the wider syllabus involved in studying Advanced Highers and have been giving slightly lower conditions for entry into their institutions. Oxford University's admissions forms require schools to comment on the percentage of students achieving the top grades in examinations, presumably to provide contextual background to the achievements of a particular student. The question is framed in terms of the percentage of candidates achieving AAA+ at A-level and AAB+ for Advanced Higher, possibly indicating that greater value is attributed to the Advanced Higher However, from September 2009, Churchill College Cambridge state that their typical offer for Scottish students will be A1, A1, A2 at Advanced Higher. (http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduates/typical_offers.php/)
External links