New Higher qualification begins this week
THOUSANDS of pupils are preparing to sit controversial new Higher qualifications for the first time as the exam period gets under way.
The Scottish Qualification Authority’s (SQA) six-week exam period will begin with tests in drama and economics tomorrow.
More than half a million exams will be sat by more than 132,000 candidates who are taking courses at 473 schools and colleges.
The new Higher exams have been developed as part of the Curriculum for Excellence reforms and follow the replacement of the old Standard Grade exams with National 4 and 5 qualifications last year. Schools were given the option to phase in the new Highers, with provisional figures released by SQA earlier this year showing 45 per cent of pupils will sit the existing and not the new qualification this year.
All pupils are due to study for the new qualifications from the 2015/16 school year on, but teaching unions have raised concerns about the implementation of the reforms and their impact on teacher workload.
Minister for Learning Dr Alasdair Allan said: “The exams are the culmination of a lot of hard work over the school year and I know that across Scotland, pupils, parents, teachers, head teachers, colleges and local authorities have been preparing intensively to get to this point.”
Dr Janet Brown, SQA chief executive and Scotland’s chief examining officer said: “All of our qualifications, including the new Higher, provide candidates with the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding they’ve acquired and prepare them for further study, employment or training.”
Candidates are due to receive their final results on August 4.