Value of National 4 called into doubt

There have been widespread calls for reform of National 4 qualifications.

A teachers union said the qualification, which involves no external exams, had come to the “end of the road” and should be scrapped.

The latest figures from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) show a drop in interest in the exams, with entries falling by 11% this year.

Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, said: “These entry rates are proof of how parents and teachers are viewing National 4.

“The worry for us is that if parents and pupils don’t value it then employers will not value it either.

“My view is National 4 has come to the end of the road because without an exam there are questions over whether it is a valid qualification.”

The qualification was introduced in 2014 when the Standard Grades system was replaced by the SQA’s national exams.

Fears were raised that without an external exam element it would be seen as a second-tier qualification.

Teachers judge pupil performance in what are called unit assessments.

But the SQA, which is reviewing the design of the National 4, insisted it should be seen as on a par with other qualifications.

Opposition parties said the exams system needs major reform.

Liz Smith, for the Scottish Conservatives, said the National 4 “does not serve the best interests of far too many pupils”.

“The SNP Government should now instigate a root and branch review of the National 4 qualification with a view to scrapping it if it is shown to no longer be required,” she added.

Scottish Labour’s Iain Gray said: “It is not just National 4 which needs reviewed and reformed, but the exam system and the senior phase, S4-6 as a whole.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said one reason for the fall in take-up of the National 4 is the reduction in the size of the school year groups involved.