Advanced Higher (Scottish)

The Advanced Higher (Scottish Gaelic: An Àrd Ìre Adhartach) is an optional qualification which forms part of the Scottish secondary education system. It is normally taken by students aged around 17-18 after they have completed Highers, which in turn are the main university entrance qualification. Advanced Higher is one level of National Course offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority as part of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.

Universities within Scotland traditionally tended to take students with only NQ Higher or A-level qualifications, but many have since begun to take students with qualifications gained elsewhere in Britain or, as with Glasgow University, for example, an International Baccalaureate.

The Advanced Higher is Level 7 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 UCAS tariff 2.1 Difficulties associated with comparing A-levels with Advanced Highers 3 Subjects 4 See also 5 External links 6 References

History

Advanced Highers were introduced in 2001 to replace the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (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.^[2]

UCAS tariff

In the UCAS tariff of valuing qualifications for university entry, Advanced Highers are usually considered on the same footing as A Levels, which are offered to students of the same age elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

According to the online UCAS tariff of January 2006, Advanced Highers are worth the same number of points as A-Levels^[3]

• A - 120
• B - 100
• C - 80
• D - 72

Difficulties associated with comparing A-levels with Advanced Highers

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. (August 2008) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.

There are problems with resource availability with Advanced Highers because they are not required for entry to Scottish Universities. Schools therefore concentrate on the Higher examinations in terms of resource and teaching allocation. Whilst an Advanced Higher qualification might be viewed as equivalent to A-level in terms of UCAS points, syllabus content and examination difficulty, it is important to realise that (a) the qualification is designed to teach independence in learning, and is accordingly built largely upon independent study (b) the qualification has poorer resources, mostly with no specially written textbooks, although some have been written for Mathematics.

Some English Universities, such as Oxford University and Cambridge University, have begun to take into account the aforementioned extra difficulties associated with Advanced Highers and have been giving slightly lower conditions for entry into their institutions. For example, where they would give a student studying A-levels an AAA conditional offer for a particular course, they may give a Scottish student studying Advanced Highers an offer of AAB for the same course. 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^[4]

Subjects

The following subjects are available at Advanced Higher:^[5]

See also

• Standard Grade
• Higher (Scottish)

External links

• Scottish Qualifications Authority official website
• Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework official website
• Article in The Times: Highers Pass A Levels as Oxbridge Gold Standard

References

1. ^ The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
2. ^ "The Hearald : News". The Herald. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
3. ^ UCAS Tariff: Tariff tables
4. ^ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article557498.ece Highers pass A-levels as Oxbridge gold standard - Times Online
5. ^ [http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/Catalogue_of_NQ_Qualifications_20052006.pdf SQA- CAT of NQ.s 2005-2006

---

No comments have been added.

Your name:
City:
Country:	USA UK India Pakistan UAE Saudi Arabia Germany Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burund Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Rep Chad Chile China Columbia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic DR Congo Denmark Djiboutil Dominica Dominican Rep Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Eq Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Grenadines Guatemala Guinea Bissau Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Neth Antilles Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Rawanda Romania Russia Sao Tome Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Africa Spain Sri Lanka St Kitts_Nevis St Lucia Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvala UAE Uganda Ukraine Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Western Samoa Yemen Yugoslavia Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe
Your comments:
Security check * (Please enter the number into adjoining box)