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Advanced Higher
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Advanced Highers were introduced to replace the Sixth Year Studies Certificate (often abbreviated to <i>CSYS</i> or just <i>SYS</i>). The final CSYS exams were taken by students at the end of the Sixth Form studies. </p> <h2 id="ucas-tariff">UCAS tariff</h2> <p>The <a href="/facts/UCAS/XoUmpjHg">UCAS</a> tariff of valuing qualifications for university entry has increased its scores for Advanced Highers at A, B and C in comparison to the past. Advanced Highers now attract more <a href="/facts/UCAS/XoUmpjHg">UCAS</a> tariff points than A-Levels at the same grades.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>Also, research studies have revealed a major gap of performance on Advanced Highers examinations between different schools sectors (i.e. private schools' students attaining, on average, higher results than state schools' students).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h3>A-levels and Advanced Highers</h3> <p>Some English Universities, such as <a href="/facts/Oxford_University/ExVVQL6V">Oxford University</a> and <a href="/facts/Cambridge_University/0la7aX9o">Cambridge University</a>, have begun to take into account the wider syllabus involved in studying Advanced Highers and have been giving slightly lower conditions for entry into their institutions. Oxford University's admissions forms require schools to comment on the percentage of students achieving the top grades in examinations, presumably to provide contextual background to the achievements of a particular student. The question is framed in terms of the percentage of candidates achieving AAA+ at A-level and AAB+ for Advanced Higher, possibly indicating that greater value is attributed to the Advanced Higher.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> However, <a href="/facts/Churchill_College%2c_Cambridge/1PEP8f0S">Churchill College, Cambridge</a> was/is the first Oxbridge College to state that their typical offer for Scottish students will be A1, A1, A2 at Advanced Higher.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="subjects">Subjects</h2> <p>The following subjects are available at Advanced Higher:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <ul><li>Accounting</li> <li>Art and Design (Design)</li> <li>Art and Design (Expressive)</li> <li>Biology</li> <li>Business Management</li> <li>Cantonese</li> <li>Chemistry</li> <li>Classical Studies</li> <li>Computing Science</li> <li>Design and Manufacture</li> <li>Drama</li> <li>Economics</li> <li>Engineering Science</li> <li>English</li> <li>French</li> <li>Gaelic (Learners)</li> <li>Gàidhlig</li> <li>Geography</li> <li>German</li> <li>Graphic Communication</li> <li>Health and Food Technology</li> <li>History</li> <li>Italian</li> <li>Latin</li> <li>Mandarin (Simplified)</li> <li>Mandarin (Traditional)</li> <li>Mathematics</li> <li>Mathematics of Mechanics</li> <li>Modern Studies</li> <li>Music</li> <li>Music Technology</li> <li>Music: Portfolio</li> <li>Physical Education</li> <li>Physics</li> <li>Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies</li> <li>Spanish</li> <li>Statistics</li></ul> <p>While all these subjects are possible, some schools choose not to run them as they can be seen as very difficult I.E Advanced Higher Drama is not offered in majority schools across the country and very few pick it if it’s an option. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Higher_(Scottish)/fpHy8mHb">Higher (Scottish)</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Scottish_Leaving_Certificate/pluw6M5N">Scottish Leaving Certificate</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Scottish_Qualifications_Authority/A8H44xfD">Scottish Qualifications Authority</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/National_Qualifications/MwLQM4Bn">National Qualifications</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/GCE_Advanced_Level_(United_Kingdom)/cEf93WEY">GCE Advanced Level (United Kingdom)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.sqa.org.uk/">Scottish Qualifications Authority official website</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.scqf.org.uk/">Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework official website</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article557498.ece">Article in The Times: Highers Pass A Levels as Oxbridge Gold Standard</a>[<i>dead link</i>]</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"University of Glasgow - International students - Your country - USA". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2021. <a href="http://www.gla.ac.uk/international/country/usa/" target="_blank">http://www.gla.ac.uk/international/country/usa/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Archived October 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.scqf.org.uk/table.htm" target="_blank">http://www.scqf.org.uk/table.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Introducing Advanced Highers <a href="http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/NQIntroducingAdvancedHigherLeaflet.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/NQIntroducingAdvancedHigherLeaflet.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Attainment gap between school sectors widens". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 12 July 2021. <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13177362.Attainment_gap_between_school_sectors_widens/" target="_blank">http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13177362.Attainment_gap_between_school_sectors_widens/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>(Highers pass A-levels as Oxbridge gold standard - Times Online[dead link] <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article557498.ece" target="_blank">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article557498.ece</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Typical offers – Churchill College". www.chu.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2021. <a href="http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduates/typical_offers.php/" target="_blank">http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduates/typical_offers.php/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"SQA Catalogue of National Qualifications". Retrieved 2020-03-21. <a href="https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/NQ_Catalogue.xlsx" target="_blank">https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/NQ_Catalogue.xlsx</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>