Scotland
In the Scottish education system the final year of school is usually known as Sixth Year or S6. During this year students typically study Advanced Higher and/or Higher courses in a wide range of subjects, taking SQA exams at the end of both S5 and S6. Pupils in Scotland may leave once they have reached the age of 16; those who reach 16 before the 30th of September may leave after national examinations in May, whilst those who are 16 by the end of February may leave the previous Christmas.
It is not essential for candidates to do a Sixth year if they wish to attend a Scottish university, as they have obtained adequate Higher grades in fifth year they may apply and receive acceptance, but this is conditional on being successful in the examinations. However, the vast majority of Scottish students return for S6 if they plan to attend university. Some English universities will also accept Scottish students who have obtained adequate Higher grades in fifth year. It was announced in December 2008 that, as from 2010, UCAS will increase the number of points awarded to those who achieve Highers and Advanced Highers.
In some cases, particularly in independent schools, the term sixth form is also used for the last two years of secondary education. An increasing number of independent schools are offering their students the International Baccalaureate Programme.
Read more about this topic: Sixth Form
Famous quotes containing the word scotland:
“Four and twenty at her back
And they were a’ clad out in green;
Tho the King of Scotland had been there
The warst o’ them might hae been his Queen.
On we lap and awa we rade
Till we cam to yon bonny ha’
Whare the roof was o’ the beaten gold
And the floor was o’ the cristal a’.”
—Unknown. The Wee Wee Man (l. 21–28)
“The “second sight” possessed by the Highlanders in Scotland is actually a foreknowledge of future events. I believe they possess this gift because they don’t wear trousers.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”
—James I of England, James VI of Scotland (1566–1625)