On 1 February 2026, Qualifications Scotland replaced SQA and became Scotland’s new national awarding body. The documents on this page remain current and you can continue to use them. We’ll update them in the style of Qualifications Scotland when they’re next due for review.

We’ve published updated unit specifications for National 3 and National 4 Environmental Science, and for freestanding Environmental Science units at SCQF levels 5 and 6.

The previous unit specifications will remain on our website for session 2025-26 and centres have the option to continue using the previous versions or swapping to the updated versions. However, from session 2026-27 onwards, the previous versions will be withdrawn and centres must use the updated versions.

For most centres, this won’t involve any change to their current practice, as evidence from verification and feedback from teachers and lecturers indicates that most centres are already assessing units using the tests with marks and a cut-off score.

You can find the updated unit specifications in the relevant sections of our Environmental Science web page.

We’re currently working on updating the unit assessment support packs and will let you know when they’ve been published. In the meantime, centres should continue to use the existing unit assessment support packs and we encourage use of the holistic approach.