Thursday 9 September 2010
Standard Grades are designed to cater for pupils of all abilities and individual candidates are entered for either Credit and General levels (grades 1-4), or for General and Foundation levels (grades 3-6). Please note that Biology, Chemistry and Physics do not offer an examination at Foundation level.
The Intermediate 1 and 2 exams were introduced a few years ago to prepare pupils for taking Highers or to enable those who struggle with Highers to achieve a qualification. However, we, along with many other schools, offer Intermediate 2 or Intermediate 1 instead of Standard Grade as some departments prefer the Intermediate course. Intermediate 1 and 2 exams are graded in the same way as Higher, namely grades A, B or C for a pass, D or Unclassified for a fail. In terms of equivalence with Standard Grades, the Intermediate 1 exam is given the same weighting as the Standard Grade General level (Grades 3 and 4) and Intermediate 2 is equal to Standard Grade Credit level (Grades 1 and 2).
Individual departments decide whether they wish to opt for Standard Grade or Intermediate 2, depending on which is most suitable in their particular subject.
There are some differences in course content and the assessment process and the Heads of Department will happily explain these in more detail.