Scotland has its own qualification framework that is separate from the one set for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but each one is recognised around the UK. England and Wales follow the National Curriculum (with the exception of the Foundation Phase in Wales), Northern Ireland follows the Northern Ireland Curriculum and Scotland follows the Curriculum for Excellence.

Children in Scotland complete seven years of primary school, then four years of secondary school. Students will then be around age 15, and eligible to take Standard Grades exams. There are three levels of these: Foundation, General and Credit. They can opt to stay in secondary school for two more years to take exams for Higher qualifications – which they’ll need to apply for university – and Advanced Highers – equivalent to the first year of university and used for applying to enter the second year of university.

Scotland does not assess primary and secondary students in Key Stages. Assessments include a standardised exam given for each subject a child will study, set out by the 5-14 curriculum (within the Curriculum for Excellence). But, it is up to the teacher to decide when the student will sit the exam, and assessments aren’t decided solely on exam results. The exams are used for teachers to confirm their own judgment of how a student is performing.

There are five defined levels within the Scottish educational system. Each is reached based on the teacher’s assessment of a student’s abilities and readiness to progress, but general year guidelines are as follows: Early (pre-school years and P1); First (to the end of P4); Second (to the end of P7); Third and Fourth (S1 to S3); Senior phase (S4 to S6, college, etc.).