How is the Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology project structured, and how do you gain marks across its three stages?
The course assessment project (60 marks): investigating a current food issue relevant to the course through three stages - project proposal, research, and analysis and evaluation; how the project is marked externally by SQA; and the research, analysis and evaluation skills it assesses, alongside the 50-mark question paper that completes the 110-mark course assessment.
An SQA Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology answer on the course assessment project, covering its three stages (project proposal, research, and analysis and evaluation), how it is marked externally by SQA out of 60 marks alongside the 50-mark question paper, and the research, analysis and evaluation skills it assesses.
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What this key area is asking
This page covers the course assessment, in particular the project, which is worth 60 of the 110 marks. The SQA wants you to understand the project's three stages (proposal, research, and analysis and evaluation), how it is marked, and the research, analysis and evaluation skills it rewards, so that you can plan and write a strong investigation of a current food issue. It also covers how the project sits alongside the 50-mark question paper.
The course assessment
The three stages of the project
What earns marks
Common mistakes
Examples in context
Example 1. A sustainability project. A candidate investigates whether reducing meat in the diet benefits health and the environment. They set a clear aim, gather reliable health and environmental data and consumer attitudes, analyse the trade-offs, conclude with recommendations, and evaluate the reliability of their sources, scoring across all three stages.
Example 2. A food-security project. Another investigates how food banks and food poverty affect diet quality in their area. A focused aim, a balanced range of sources including statistics and reports, careful analysis and an honest evaluation of limitations make for a strong project.
Try this
Q1. State how many marks the project is worth in the course assessment. [1 mark]
- Cue. 60 marks (out of the 110-mark total, alongside the 50-mark question paper).
Q2. Explain why a project topic should be a narrow, specific food issue rather than a broad theme. [2 marks]
- Cue. A narrow, specific issue gives a clear aim that can actually be investigated and evaluated, whereas a broad theme is too large to research in depth or reach supported conclusions.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA AH style6 marksDescribe the three stages of the Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology project and what a candidate does in each.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark answer needs each of the three stages named with the work done in it, two marks each.
Stage 1, the project proposal: the candidate chooses a current food issue relevant to the course and plans the investigation. They state the aim, explain why the issue is relevant, identify the information they need and the sources and methods they will use, and plan how they will gather and handle the data.
Stage 2, the research: the candidate carries out the planned investigation, gathering relevant information from a range of valid sources (for example literature, data, surveys or experiments) and recording it accurately. Good research uses a balanced range of reliable sources and stays focused on the aim.
Stage 3, analysis and evaluation: the candidate analyses the information gathered, drawing out findings and relationships, then evaluates the issue and the investigation, reaching reasoned conclusions, making recommendations, and reflecting on the reliability and limitations of the sources and method.
Markers reward two points per stage: (1 and 2) the proposal sets the aim, relevance and plan, (3 and 4) the research gathers and records valid information from a range of sources, and (5 and 6) the analysis and evaluation draws conclusions and judges the evidence and process.
SQA AH style4 marksExplain how the course assessment of Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology is made up, and how the grade is decided.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark answer needs both components with their marks and how the grade is reached.
The course assessment has two components totalling 110 marks. The question paper is worth 50 marks and is set and marked externally by SQA, testing knowledge and understanding from across the course and the application of skills.
The project is worth 60 marks and is also marked externally by SQA. It assesses the research, analysis and evaluation of a current food issue through the three stages of proposal, research, and analysis and evaluation.
The grade is based on the total marks achieved across both components, and the course is graded A to D, with the project carrying slightly more marks than the question paper.
Markers reward (1) two components totalling 110 marks, (2) the question paper is 50 marks and externally marked, (3) the project is 60 marks and externally marked, and (4) the grade (A to D) comes from the combined total.
Related dot points
- Factors affecting food choice: physiological, psychological and lifestyle factors (income and budget, time and convenience, lifestyle and occupation, culture and religion, peer and family influence, advertising and marketing, health concerns, and the influence of technology and food trends) and how they interact to influence what consumers buy and eat.
An SQA Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology answer on the factors affecting food choice, covering income and budget, time and convenience, lifestyle and occupation, culture and religion, peer and family influence, advertising and marketing, health concerns and the influence of technology and food trends, and how they interact.
- Ethical and environmental issues: sustainability and food miles; food waste and packaging; ethical labelling and assurance schemes (Fairtrade, organic, free-range, animal welfare); food security; and genetically modified and novel foods, and how these issues influence consumer choice and manufacturing.
An SQA Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology answer on ethical and environmental food issues, covering sustainability and food miles, food waste and packaging, ethical and assurance schemes (Fairtrade, organic, free-range), food security, and genetically modified and novel foods, and how each influences consumer choice and manufacturing.
- Diet-related conditions: the relationship between diet and coronary heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, dental caries, iron-deficiency anaemia, osteoporosis, hypertension and bowel disorders; the dietary changes that reduce risk and the dietary management of each condition.
An SQA Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology answer on diet-related conditions, covering how diet relates to coronary heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, dental caries, iron-deficiency anaemia, osteoporosis, hypertension and bowel disorders, and the dietary changes that reduce risk or manage each condition.
- Food product development: the stages of developing a new food product (identifying a market need, generating and screening ideas, writing a product specification, prototyping and modification, sensory and consumer testing, scaling up to production, and launch); the reasons companies develop new products; and the role of market research and the product life cycle.
An SQA Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology answer on food product development, covering the stages from identifying a market need through idea generation and screening, product specification, prototyping, sensory and consumer testing, scaling up and launch, the reasons companies develop products, and the role of market research and the product life cycle.
Sources & how we know this
- Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology Course Specification — SQA (2019)
- Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology (Course Code C836 77) — Planit (Skills Development Scotland) (2024)
- Understanding Standards: Health and Food Technology (Advanced Higher project) — SQA (2024)