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Biology

New National Qualifications

Microscopic image of green microbes Biology sits within the sciences curriculum area.

Finalised documents have now been published for all the new Curriculum for Excellence Advanced Highers. This means that, along with the documents that were published last April, finalised Course and Unit documents are now available for all the new qualifications, from National 2 to Advanced Higher. These documents contain both mandatory information (in the Specifications) and advice and guidance (in the Support Notes). You can download all of these documents for this subject from our download page, using the button below, or use our check-box facility to download a selection of documents.

Assessment support materials are also now available for all the new National 2, National 3, National 4 and National 5 qualifications. Information on Course assessment support material (such as Specimen Question Papers and coursework information) is available on the National 5 subject page and, for all National 2 to National 5 qualifications, information on how to access Unit assessment support materials can be found on each subject page.

Following the development of these support materials, some documents with mandatory information (in particular the Course Assessment Specifications) will be updated with further information and clarifications by mid-June. In line with our standard practice, these documents will contain version information and a note of changes, if necessary. This will ensure that you can recognise the most up-to-date documents.

Development process

The final documents have been published following a lengthy engagement process. Find out how we got here. Considerable work has been carried out by the Curriculum Area Review Groups (CARGs), the Qualifications Design Teams (QDTs) and Subject Working Groups (SWGs) to develop the final documents.

At each stage of the qualification development process, we publish draft documents outlining our proposals and plans.

Visit our timeline to find out when the next documents for each qualification will be published.

Key points

develops learners’ interest and enthusiasm for biology in a range of contexts
develops skills of scientific inquiry and investigation
enables learners to become scientifically literate citizens, able to review the science-based claims they will meet
provides opportunities to build challenging, coherent and enjoyable journeys for learners through all levels
has a hierarchical Unit structure that provides progression from National 3 to National 5
offers progression from National 5 to both Higher Biology and Higher Human Biology
has added value which provides personalisation and choice and is assessed through an assignment at National 4 and a question paper and assignment at National 5 and Higher
includes reviewed and revised content

All Science Courses have been designed to progress from the Sciences experiences and outcomes and are based on their subject Progression Framework.