National Qualifications Online

National Qualifications in detail

National Qualifications (NQs) are for students in secondary schools and are also offered in colleges of further education. NQs are Standard Grades, National Units, National Courses and Group Awards.


Overview of the framework

 

Standard GradesNational Courses/Units
Advanced Higher
Higher 1
Standard Grade - Credit Intermediate 2
Standard Grade - GeneralIntermediate 1
Standard Grade - FoundationAccess 3
Access 2
Access 1

NQs have been designed to be as flexible as possible to meet the needs of all students. Qualifications can be built up over time, encouraging students to progress to the highest level they can achieve.

NQs cover hundreds of subjects to suit everyone's interests and skills. Schools offer a range of traditional subjects as well as new subjects that will be useful in today's workplace, such as biotechnology, media studies and information systems.

Related links

Age and Stage regulations

Explore the consultation on the entry of candidates for National Qualifications.

Help choosing NQ subjects

PlanIT Plus provides career information to help you choose your NQ subjects.

SQA

Find key information for NQs, such as the exam timetable, specimen papers and news of subject reviews.

NQ jargon buster

Find simple explanations of all the jargon and abbreviations surrounding NQs.