Higher

Overview

Higher is a school-leaving and university-entrance qualification set by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the national body that designs and awards Scotland's National Qualifications. It sits above National 5 and below Advanced Higher in the SQA's framework, at SCQF level 6 (the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework level used to compare Scottish qualifications with each other and with qualifications elsewhere).

Scotland runs its own school qualifications, separate from GCSE and A level used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each Higher is a stand-alone, single-subject course, usually completed in one school year, rather than the two-year course that an A level is. A student builds up a personal set of subjects by taking several Highers, normally after already taking National 5 (or equivalent) in that subject.

Who can apply

Higher courses are most commonly taken by school students around 16 to 17 years old, in what Scottish schools call S5 (the year after National 5 is usually taken, in S4). Higher is also offered in further education colleges and can be taken by older students and adult learners, not only school pupils on the standard path.

SQA itself does not set one fixed national entry requirement for Higher; schools and colleges decide their own expectations for a subject, commonly that a student has already passed, or is ready to study without, National 5 in that subject. A student cannot register for a Higher directly with SQA — entry must go through an SQA-approved "centre" (a school, college or training provider).

Private candidates, including home-educated students and adults studying independently, can also sit Highers, but they must first find an SQA-approved centre willing to act as their presenting centre, since SQA does not accept entries from individuals directly.

Subjects and course load

Each Higher is assessed as its own subject, so there is no single fixed combination of subjects. A student's school builds a personal timetable from the subjects it offers. Scottish universities commonly look for a student to be carrying a handful of Highers together in S5, most often around four to five subjects, rather than the three subjects typical of an A-level programme, since the Higher course itself is designed to be completed within a single year.

Exam pattern

Most Higher subjects are assessed through a combination of components rather than a single exam: typically a written question paper set and marked by SQA, plus one or more other pieces of course assessment, such as a coursework assignment, project, portfolio or practical/performance task, depending on the subject. The exact mix of components is set separately for each subject's course specification.

A candidate's overall grade is based on the total marks across all the components of that subject's course assessment, not on the question paper alone. A Higher course carries 24 SCQF credit points, the same credit value as National 5, while Advanced Higher carries 32 SCQF credit points.

Marking and results

Highers are graded A, B, C or D; a result below the threshold for D is recorded as "No Award" rather than a graded pass. The minimum mark needed for each grade is not fixed in advance — SQA sets the grade boundaries for a subject after that year's exam has been sat, so that the standard represented by a given grade stays broadly consistent from year to year even when a question paper turns out to be harder or easier than intended.

Students who are concerned about a result can use SQA's Appeals Service, which is free and opens on results day.

Important dates

For the 2026 National Qualifications exam diet, written exams ran from Wednesday 22 April to Tuesday 2 June 2026, with the timetable for each subject published in advance by SQA on its own site. Results for the 2026 diet were issued on results day, Tuesday 4 August 2026, with the Scottish Qualifications Certificate sent to each student by first-class post to their home address.

Fees

SQA charges an entry fee per subject to the presenting centre (the school, college or training provider), not to the candidate directly, so a pupil entered for Higher through their own school or college does not pay SQA a fee themselves.

Private candidates still need to arrange entry through an SQA-approved centre, since SQA does not take entries from individuals; the centre, rather than SQA, is who a private candidate deals with and pays for being entered.

After the exam

Results go to the student directly on results day; students who have applied to university through UCAS also have their results sent on to UCAS, which passes them to the universities and colleges they applied to. Because Higher is a one-year course rather than a two-year one, many Scottish universities accept Highers alone for first-year entry, commonly looking for around four to five Higher subjects at specified grades, without requiring a student to have also taken Advanced Higher.

A pass at Higher in a subject lets a student move on to Advanced Higher in that same subject, normally in S6, at SCQF level 7. Higher also lets a student progress to other SQA qualifications pitched at SCQF level 6, or on to further study, training or employment more generally.

Preparation tips

• Grade boundaries move from year to year, so practise with recent official past papers and SQA's published "Understanding Standards" exemplar materials for your subject, rather than assuming a fixed percentage always gives a particular grade.

• Since most Higher subjects combine a written question paper with coursework-type components such as an assignment or portfolio, start those non-exam components early in the year — they count toward the same overall grade as the question paper.

• Confirm with your school early which Higher subjects you can take, since subject choice depends on what your school offers and, often, on your National 5 results in that subject.

FAQs