A head teacher has backed calls to axe the historic name of Scotland’s "Highers" as she warned many pupils are "voting with their feet" because of inequity within the nation’s school curriculum.
Pauline Walker, head teacher at the Royal High School in Edinburgh, told MSPs the word “Higher” makes other qualifications at the same level appear “second class”.
She also joined other school leaders in calling for progress on reform of Scotland’s qualifications model, after education secretary Jenny Gilruth delayed a decision last week on changes proposed as part of a review led by Professor Louise Hayward.
Highers date back to 1888 in Scotland, when a leaving certificate was introduced, with “honours”, “higher” and “lower” grades offered. However, it was suggested earlier this year, as part of discussions linked to the Hayward review, that qualifications should be referred to by their Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level, which would be “SCQF Level 6” for Higher.
The idea was tabled amid fears “Higher” was seen as being a greater achievement than other qualifications at the same level, which can include Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ) and foundation and modern apprenticeships.
In the end, Prof Hayward recommended using the SCQF Level followed by the name of the qualification in promotional literature and in recording of results, such as “SCQF Level 6 Higher”.
Giving evidence to Holyrood’s education committee on Wednesday, Ms Walker backed the removal of “Higher”. She said: “Even just the word ‘Higher’. The fact that Higher is considered the gold standard immediately makes the Level 6 as a second-class citizen.
