Brightest state pupils denied chance to sit prestigious new exams

NEW science and language qualifications are dominated by independent school pupils, critics have claimed.

Only 23 pupils are entered for the newly created Scottish language baccalaureate across the whole of Scotland. Nine of those candidates are from the independent sector, despite only 5 per cent of Scottish children being educated in private schools.

The figures are more balanced in the science baccalaureate, with 31 of 153 entrants being from private schools.

Critics said the system benefited private schools because state schools had too few staff to run the new certificate alongside existing Higher, Intermediates and Standard grades.

An interdisciplinary project, which forms a key part of the qualification, requires individual attention for each pupil.

Carole Ford, past president of headteachers union School Leaders Scotland, said lack of staff was the main barrier to state schools being able to run baccalaureates.

"The low uptake of the new baccalaureate qualification is disappointing, but not surprising," she said. "Of more concern is the fact that this qualification is currently dominated by pupils from the independent sector."

She said pupils in private education accounted for a small percentage of the total pupil population, but nearly 40 per cent of the language baccalaureate entrants and more than 20 per cent of the science baccalaureates.

She added: "Staffing levels in the state sector are the major barrier to uptake and, until this is addressed, universities and colleges must be very wary of according it any additional credit in the SCQF (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework]."

The framework for qualifications, used to weight exams available in Scotland, ranks the baccalaureate as a level-7 qualification, on the same level as the Advanced Higher and above Higher.

Baccalaureates were created by the Scottish Government in 2008 in an attempt to boost uptake of science and languages – two subjects thought to be key for the economy.

They are made up of a mixture of Highers and Advanced Highers, plus the project.

Ucas, the university admissions body, has already said it will acknowledge the project and give it points equivalent to half an Advanced Higher.

Points are allocated to each qualification that a university applicant has achieved, with more points meaning a greater chance of a place.

However, it emerged last month that a third of those who originally opted to take the baccalaureates had pulled out.

Of the original 246 entries, 70 pulled out – 60 from science and ten from languages – leaving 153 studying for the science baccalaureate and only 23 for the languages qualification.

At the time, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), which runs the exams, said the withdrawal level was "in line with what would be expected".

Judith Sischy, director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), said the higher uptake of the baccalaureates in independent schools reflected the greater proportion of pupils in the sector who took languages and sciences.

Ms Sischy also said that she believed the new qualification would be highly valued by universities.

August will see the first pupils achieving baccalaureates receive their results.

Baccalaureate awards were intended to stretch the brightest pupils and help them to make the transition to further and higher education. They are obtained by studying two Advanced Highers and one Higher in a specified range of subjects plus the project.

Science and language baccalaureates were introduced first to address concerns that too few teenagers choose these subjects, but it had been anticipated that a social sciences version could follow in 2011.

HIGHER MARKS

THE project element of the new baccalaureate was rated as the equivalent of half an Advanced Higher by Ucas last year, dependent on grade.

This means an A would equal 65 points, a B would 55 and a C equates to 50.

Ucas also increased the value of an Advanced Higher, giving it greater weighting in comparison to A-levels.

The moves mean pupils taking Scottish exams have a better chance than before at winning a university place.

University places are offered on a points system – for example to win a place in medicine at Edinburgh, applicants need 385 points.