SQA Curiosity

[bobofinga]

I was born , raised and educated my whole life in Scotland so I am use to SQA (Scottish qualifications Authority).

I'm just curious why colleges in England and the MCA in particular use SQA for examinations and also certification?

How is it the grades and stuff work in England and the rest of the UK? Is there different authorities for different areas or what?

Just something I was thinking about...

[alistairuk]

The SQA are purely the examination board that have the contract from the MCA to administer the exams on their behalf.

In England they have 2 or 3 examination boards which set the exams for schools etc. I believe it's basically upto the school / local authority which exam board they use for GCSE / A Levels.

On a side note some Scottish schools use one of these boards (and subsequently there students sit GCSE and A Levels) instead of the SQA but it's fairly rare except at a few Scottish private schools.

[bobofinga]

The only other 1 in Scotland I know is Fettes in Edinburgh , which does the International Baccalaureate.