Written by Christian Chinonso
Founder, LearnViaHub | Academic Credential & International Student Research
✓ Last Verified: October 2026Primary Sources Sourced
Quick answer
Scotland grades National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher from A to D, with No Award below that. Qualifications Scotland, which replaced the SQA on 1 February 2026, sets the notional marks: A is 70% or more (Upper A 85%), B 60–69%, C 50–59%, D 40–49% and No Award below 40%. The exact boundaries are set each year.
Scottish universities do not use A–D. Aberdeen grades on a 0–22 point scale, St Andrews on a 0–20 scale and Edinburgh on percentages. US readings vary: NAIA’s published standard treats A, B, C and D as 4, 3, 2 and 1 points.
NAIA-style average: how many of each grade?
Notional marks come from Qualifications Scotland. UCAS points are from the published Tariff. The US grade and the average follow NAIA’s published standard, which is one institution’s method. This is not an official conversion.
The tool is a planning aid only. Its figures come from the published tables on this page.
Who sets Scotland’s grades?
The Education (Scotland) Act 2025 established Qualifications Scotland as the replacement for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), and it began on 1 February 2026. For learners, courses and assessment stayed the same (Qualifications Scotland). Its websites still show both names while the move completes.
National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher grades
All three are graded A, B, C or D, and a grade D is reported as a course award in its own right. Below that the result is No Award. Grade boundaries are the minimum marks for each grade, and they are set each year after marking. Qualifications Scotland starts from notional boundaries of 50% for C, 70% for A and 85% for Upper A (grade boundaries background).
| Band | Grade | Notional mark |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A (Upper A) | 85% and above |
| 2 | A | 70–84% |
| 3 | B | 65–69% |
| 4 | B | 60–64% |
| 5 | C | 55–59% |
| 6 | C | 50–54% |
| 7 | D | 40–49% |
| 8 | No Award | 30–39% |
| 9 | No Award | 0–29% |
I worked these ranges out by applying Qualifications Scotland’s own formulas to the notional 50% and 70% boundaries. Grade D was widened from a notional 45–49% to 40–49% when the revised National Qualifications were introduced. This is also why you may see “band 8” in Scottish results: it is a No Award band, not a grade.
Worked example: how a course’s boundaries are set
Qualifications Scotland sets only three boundaries for each course: C, A and Upper A. The others are calculated. Take a hypothetical course where awarders set C = 48, A = 68 and Upper A = 82. The gap between A and C is 20, so:
| Band | Calculation | Minimum mark |
|---|---|---|
| 3 (B) | 48 + ⌊(3 × 20 + 1) ÷ 4⌋ | 63 |
| 4 (B) | 48 + ⌊(2 × 20 + 1) ÷ 4⌋ | 58 |
| 5 (C) | 48 + ⌊(1 × 20 + 1) ÷ 4⌋ | 53 |
| 7 (D) | 48 − ⌈(2 × 20 − 1) ÷ 4⌉ | 38 |
| 8 (No Award) | 48 − ⌈(4 × 20 − 1) ÷ 4⌉ | 28 |
In this course a mark of 60 falls in band 4 and earns a B, a 40 earns a D, and a 30 is No Award. Real boundaries differ by course and year, so check your subject’s published boundaries.
National 5 vs GCSE
National 5 is at SCQF level 5, which matches level 2 on the framework used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Qualifications Scotland). UK ENIC treats National 5 grades A to C as comparable to GCSE grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), and it also treats a grade D as level 5 (UK ENIC). Neither body publishes a grade-for-grade table.
Some universities publish their own. Cardiff University, for example, accepts National 5 in place of GCSE where it asks for level 2:
| GCSE grade required | Cardiff accepts National 5 |
|---|---|
| A* | A |
| A | B |
| B | C |
| C | D |
Source: Cardiff University. This is one university’s rule, not a national equivalence. National 5 grades run A to D, so there is no equivalent of a 9 to 1 scale.
Higher
Higher is at SCQF level 6, matching level 3 on the framework used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the level of A-levels and AS-levels (Qualifications Scotland, GOV.UK). Highers are the standard entry requirement for higher education in Scotland (Qualifications Scotland). A Higher is worth 24 SCQF credit points and is graded on the same A to D scale as National 5.
Advanced Higher
Advanced Higher is at SCQF level 7, the same level as a Higher National Certificate, and is worth 32 SCQF credit points. It is taken in secondary schools (broadly S5–S6) and in colleges and graded A to D (Qualifications Scotland). Universities can weigh it against Highers: Glasgow counts a grade C at Advanced Higher as a B at Higher (Glasgow). Medicine and Dentistry at Cardiff require three Advanced Higher qualifications.
SCQF levels
The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework has 12 levels. One credit point represents about 10 hours of learning, so credits show the volume of learning, not the UCAS points (SCQF).
| SCQF level | Qualification | Credit points | England, Wales, NI level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | National 5 | 24 | 2 |
| 6 | Higher | 24 | 3 |
| 7 | Advanced Higher, HNC | 32 (Advanced Higher) | 4 or 5 (shared with level 8) |
| 8 | HND | — | 4 or 5 (shared with level 7) |
| 9 | Ordinary degree | — | 6 (shared with level 10) |
Qualifications Scotland’s comparison table pairs SCQF 7 and 8 with levels 4 and 5, and SCQF 9 and 10 with level 6, so it does not give a single level for each. So SCQF level 8 sits at level 4 or 5 in England, depending on the qualification (Qualifications Scotland). Credits and levels are not UCAS points.
Scottish university grading
Universities do not use the school A–D scale, and each sets its own. Three examples:
| University | Scale | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Common Grading Scale: 23 grades in seven bands, grade points 0–22 | Aberdeen |
| St Andrews | 20-point Common Reporting Scale | St Andrews |
| Edinburgh | Percentage marks with letter grades A1–H (Extended Common Marking Scheme) | Edinburgh marking scheme |
University of Aberdeen
| Grades | Descriptor | Honours class | Grade points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1–A5 | Excellent | First | 22.00–18.00 |
| B1–B3 | Very Good | Upper Second | 17.99–15.00 |
| C and D bands | D1–D3 are passes; D3 (9 points) is the pass grade | See the Aberdeen page | 14.99–9.00 |
| E1–E3 | Marginal Fail | Below Third Class | 8.99–6.00 |
| F1–F3 | Fail | Below Third Class | 5.99–3.00 |
| G1–G3 | Fail, Token or No Submission | Below Third Class | 2.99–0.00 |
Aberdeen aggregates assessments as grade points and does not round them before classifying. Its own worked example has two essays at 20% each graded B2 (16 points) and A3 (20 points), and an exam at 60% graded C1 (14 points): (20% × 16) + (20% × 20) + (60% × 14) = 15.60. Only courses at level 3 and above count towards honours, and a First needs a GPA of 18.0 to 22.0 (Aberdeen CGS, Aberdeen FAQ).
St Andrews and Edinburgh
St Andrews reports module and degree results on a 20-point scale rather than a percentage, and it says a conversion between the two would not be linear. It does not offer a formal conversion to US GPA (St Andrews). Edinburgh’s extended marking scheme uses percentages: 90–100 is A1, 80–89 A2 and 70–79 A3 (First); 60–69 is B (Upper Second); 50–59 is C (Lower Second); and 40–49 is D (Third). This is a copy hosted by Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, so confirm the current version with your department.
UCAS points for Scottish qualifications
| Grade | Higher | Advanced Higher | A-level (for comparison) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 33 | 56 | 48 |
| B | 27 | 48 | 40 |
| C | 21 | 40 | 32 |
| D | 15 | 32 | 24 |
Source: the published UCAS Tariff as reproduced by Which? University. A Higher A is worth 33 points against 48 for an A-level A, so the two are not interchangeable. The Scottish rows in those tables list Highers and Advanced Highers, not National 5. Check the Tariff table for your course, because not every university makes offers in points.
Scottish grades and US GPA
We found no official conversion from Scottish grades to GPA. One US published standard exists for school-level grades. The NAIA, a US athletics association, converts National 5, Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher exam grades as follows, weighting each exam as one credit (NAIA published standards):
| Scottish grade | NAIA US grade | Quality points |
|---|---|---|
| A | A | 4 |
| B | B | 3 |
| C | C | 2 |
| D | D (lowest passing) | 1 |
| No Award | F | 0 |
Worked example. A student with three As, two Bs and one C: (3 × 4 + 2 × 3 + 1 × 2) ÷ 6 = 20 ÷ 6 = 3.33 on the NAIA method. The standard is dated November 2021 and serves NAIA eligibility, so another US college can read the same grades differently.
For degrees, the university decides. Aberdeen says transcripts with a mapping for North America remain available on request, while St Andrews offers no formal conversion to US GPA (Aberdeen FAQ, St Andrews). Ask your registry what it provides, and follow the method your target programme names. Our WES evaluation guide covers programmes that ask for an evaluation.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage is an A in Scotland?
The notional boundary for an A at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher is 70%, with Upper A at 85%. The real boundary is set each year and varies by course (Qualifications Scotland).
Is National 5 the same as GCSE?
They are at comparable levels (SCQF 5 and RQF level 2), but there is no official grade-for-grade table. UK ENIC compares National 5 grades A to C with GCSE grades 9 to 4.
Do National 5s have UCAS points?
The Tariff tables we checked list points for Highers and Advanced Highers but not for National 5.
How many UCAS points is a Higher worth?
A is 33, B is 27, C is 21 and D is 15. Advanced Higher A is 56, B is 48, C is 40 and D is 32.
What is grade 8 in Scotland?
Qualifications Scotland divides each course into bands 1 to 9. Band 8 is a No Award band, with a notional range of 30–39%.
What is SCQF level 8 equivalent to in England?
Qualifications Scotland pairs SCQF 8 and 7 with RQF levels 5 and 4. An HND is SCQF 8 and is level 5 on the England, Wales and Northern Ireland framework.
How does the Aberdeen Common Grading Scale work?
It has 23 grades in seven bands, each with a grade point from 0 to 22. Aberdeen aggregates the points across assessments and classifies degrees from the average. A First is 18.0 to 22.0.
Who runs Scottish qualifications now?
Qualifications Scotland, which replaced the SQA on 1 February 2026. The courses and grades did not change.
Related guides
How we researched this
Last checked: 17 October 2026. We compared each statement with the source linked beside it: Qualifications Scotland’s notice on becoming Qualifications Scotland, its grade-boundaries background page (updated 29 July 2026) and its SCQF comparison table; SCQF’s credit and level pages; UK ENIC and GOV.UK for qualification levels; and the University of Aberdeen’s Common Grading Scale pages. We also checked St Andrews’ grading pages, an Edinburgh marking scheme (a School of Informatics copy), and the admissions pages of Glasgow and Cardiff. NAIA’s published Scotland standard is dated November 2021. UCAS points are taken from the published Tariff as reproduced by Which? University. Band ranges and the boundary example are our calculations from Qualifications Scotland’s formulas. The student examples use hypothetical grades.
This page is for general information. LearnViaHub is not affiliated with Qualifications Scotland, UCAS, any university or any government agency mentioned. Grading rules change and differ by institution, so confirm them with the institution you are applying to.
Christian Chinonso is the founder of LearnViaHub, with 6+ years of research experience in international education — including GPA systems, scholarships, student financing, and study-abroad guidance — for students worldwide.