The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) are the organisation responsible for providing and approving the curriculum taught in Scottish schools. Therefore they are also the organisation who produce the exams that assess a pupil's learning, and finally they are responsible for awarding the Scottish Qualifications Certificate to document a pupil's achievements.

Mr Slavin (DHT) is responsible for most SQA related matters. These include the management of candidate information and results and management of the Prelim and Final Exam Timetable. If you cannot find the answer to your query here, please contact him by email at balfronhs@stirling.gov.uk

The Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) is a fairly lengthy document that a pupil receives at the end of S4. It lists all the achievements gained by then. This includes SCE Standard Grades and NQ Courses. It also includes any Scottish Group Awards or Core Skills gained and a detailed summary of all NQ Unit passes. Finally it includes the pupil's SCQF points total. The SQC is then revised and updated at the end of S5 and again at the end of S6 as the pupil achieves more.

SCE specifically refers to Standard Grade courses. All other school courses are called National Qualification (NQ) Courses. For example Higher Maths, Intermediate 2 Biology, and Advanced Higher Physics are all NQ Courses. A detailed guide to school qualifications can be downloaded here.

All of the National Qualification courses were designed to offer progression from the level you are currently studying.  The following are general rules to use: 

• If you are currently achieving a Higher at A or B, you should progress onto Advanced Higher.

• If you are currently achieving a Credit 1 or 2, or an Intermediate 2 at A or B, you should progress onto Higher. 

• If you are currently achieving a General 3 or 4, or an Intermediate 1 award, you should progress onto Intermediate 2. 

• If you are currently achieving a Foundation 5 or 6, or an Access 3 award, you should progress onto Intermediate 1.

There are some dangers that you should be aware of: 

• If you achieve a grade C in Intermediate 2, you are very unlikely to achieve success in the following year at Higher level.
• If you achieve a grade C in Higher, you are very unlikely to achieve success in the following year at Advanced Higher level.
• While different schools achieve varying levels of success, SQA research has shown that there is a national pattern to achieving successful progression.  The research tables can be found on our website.  For example if you achieve a Credit grade 2 in Biology, you may still find it difficult to pass Higher Biology the following year.  See this table for more information.  It is also true that a Maths Higher Grade B is a very good result, but you will be unlikely to achieve success at Advanced Higher Maths the following year.  See this table for details.
• When you choose your subjects, your teachers will choose the most appropriate level for you to achieve success.  The best person to seek subject specific advice from is the Principal Teacher responsible for that subject.  Alternatively, contact Mr Slavin.

SGAs are larger qualifications that you take over a longer period of time - in this way they're more like university degrees, HNCs and HNDs, and SVQs. You work towards them by taking four or five subjects - these could relate to what you want to do when you leave full-time education or go on to college or university, or they could reflect your interests.

SGAs are also a way of demonstrating your ability to set yourself a demanding target and see it through, as well as being a landmark achievement as you move on to the next stage of your career or your education, or work towards fulfilling your ambitions.

One of the main aims of National Qualifications is to help pupils develop their Core Skills - the abilities they need as active, enterprising, and responsible members of society. The Core Skills are:

Communication
Numeracy
Problem Solving
Information Technology
Working with Others

These skills are embedded in a variety of different courses, and as pupils successfully complete these course they are automatically awarded the appropriate Core Skill(s).

A Unit is one component part of a whole NQ Course. Most school Courses include the equivalent of 3 Units, e.g. the Higher Physics Course has 3 Units: Mechanics, Electricity and Radiation. Each of these Units is primarily assessed using a "NAB" test. All Units have to be passed successfully before a candidate is eligible for an overall Course award. However the individual Unit results are shown separately on the SQ Certificate, and many pupils do 'stand-alone' Units without attempting any Course Exam.

A NAB is a term used by pupils and teachers to describe the end of Unit assessment that pupils must pass (see above) and is short for National Assessment Bank. NAB tests are provided by the SQA, but delivered and marked internally by subject teachers.

Your Scottish Candidate Number is your unique number that is associated with you and your SQA exams. You should know this number as you have to write it on exam papers. It also ensures that your SQ Certificate shows all your (and only your) achievements.

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) allows pupils, parents, employers and the public in general to understand the full range of Scottish qualifications and how they relate to each other. More details can be found here.

Past-Papers are official reprints of SQA exams from previous years. They are considered by most teachers to be the best form of exam revision, since they test a pupil's ability at the level expected by the SQA. They are published by Leckie & Leckie, and are available in good bookshops or online.

Prelims are practice exams organised by the school. Their main purpose is to give pupils practice in sitting a full length exam under conditions as close to the Final Exams. They therefore also allow teachers to make estimates of likely Final Exam performance for pupils in their subjects. Finally, they can also form part of a package of evidence that Principal Teachers can submit to the SQA in the unlikely event of an Appeal being required. S5/6 Prelims take place in February while S4 Prelims take place in December.

Shortly before the Final Exams, teachers are asked to send the SQA an estimate of the likely performance of all their pupils about to sit an exam in their subject. This is an estimate only. However, it should always be based on strong evidence produced by the pupil during that course to date. Skilled experienced teachers are usually very good at estimating likely performance and this process helps the SQA evaluate a number of their own procedures. Teachers will use a number of sources of information in order to reach an estimate for a particular pupil, including homework exercises, topic tests and Prelim Exam performance. Thus it is important that pupils use all assessments and the Prelim as an opportunity to best demonstrate their ability in every subject.

The Appeal Process is a final safeguard unique to the Scottish Exam system. In the event that a pupil dramatically underachieves in their Final Exam(s), there exists the facility for schools to alert the SQA to this unfortunate circumstance. This process should only take place under extraordinary circumstances, such as illness, family bereavement or similar. The school will appeal on behalf of that pupil and ask the SQA to look at the evidence that has been accumulated. Only demonstrated evidence covering the entire course can be considered. This evidence must include strong topic test scores, a very high pass in the Prelim Exam etc. It cannot ever be based on paperless evidence such as the optimism of teachers and parents, estimates of a tutor etc.

No. Only the school can appeal to SQA on behalf of the student and they will only do that if the student failed to achieve the grade they were expected to attain. In exceptional circumstances, the school or college may appeal to improve a student's grade - but only if it has strong evidence to support this. Sometimes schools are put under pressure by parents to submit an unjustifiable appeal. This is costly, time-consuming and never successful. If you require more information, SQA produces a guide Appeals: how the system works, available from the website.

Further information can be found in the SQA's own list of FAQ here. Alternatively email your question to balfronhs@stirling.gov.uk

No!  There are no circumstances that allow you to take a mobile phone into an exam room, even if it is switched off.  The SQA are very clear on this: “In no circumstances can mobile or WAP enabled phones or any other electronic communication devices be taken into the examination room”.  The penalties for being found in possession of such a device can include having one or more exam entries cancelled.  It is not worth the risk.  We advise that you leave mobile phones at home on exam days as we cannot be responsible for theft or loss if you choose to bring a phone to school and leave it outside the exam hall in a bag or jacket etc.  The SQA’s own website gives further details on Improper Conduct.

SQA’s definition of plagiarism, as given in the leaflet Your Coursework, is:

‘Plagiarism involves taking someone else’s words, thoughts or ideas and trying to pass them off as your own. This includes failing to acknowledge sources of information that you have used in your work. Some examples of plagiarism are:

¨      Including parts of someone else’s work in your own without using quotation marks and identifying the source. This includes cutting and pasting information from the internet

¨      Copying, re-wording or summarising someone else’s work and including it as your own without acknowledging the source

¨      Not labelling diagrams/illustrations that you have used

¨      Working together with other students on a task that should have been done on your own’

Plagiarism is a very serious offence and the penalty can include having one or more exam entries cancelled.  For more details see the leaflet “Your Coursework” available here.

The SQA’s own timetable for all exams is available for download here.  Use this to get an idea of your exam dates.  However, the times may be different at Balfron High School because so many pupils travel in by contract buses.  You will be issued with an individual timetable that is personalised for only you showing exact exam times.  You will receive this after the Easter Holidays..

Yes.  Balfron High School has a clear and unambiguous policy on wearing school uniform.  It is in the interests of the health and safety of all pupils and teachers that everyone identifies clearly with the school by wearing school uniform.  The policy has been reached through consultation with all relevant parties including parents’ forums and the School Board.  If you are entering the school to sit an exam, or even if you are only coming in to study between exams you must wear the school uniform.