Course and assessment overview: SQA Advanced Higher Art and Design
A guide to the structure and assessment of SQA Advanced Higher Art and Design: the two separate awards (Expressive and Design), the single 100-mark portfolio and its three sections, the skills assessed, how the course differs from Higher, and SCQF level 7.
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This guide maps the structure and assessment of Advanced Higher Art and Design, an SCQF level 7 course, so you know exactly where the marks are before you start work. The dot points take the portfolio structure and the step up from Higher in detail.
The two routes
Advanced Higher Art and Design is two separate awards: Expressive (a personal, expressive body of artwork) and Design (a design brief worked through to a resolved outcome). You take one. The assessment model is identical for both.
A single 100-mark portfolio
The entire course assessment is one portfolio worth 100 marks, which is 100 per cent of the course, so there is no question paper. It is submitted as a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 single-sided A1 sheets or equivalent, and must fold to a size not exceeding A1. The award is graded A to D.
The three sections
The portfolio is marked in three sections: practical work (64 marks), contextual analysis (30 marks, a written analysis of a chosen work in its contexts, maximum 2,000 words), and evaluation (6 marks, critical reflection on your own creative decisions). Practical work carries two thirds of the marks, but the written sections are over a third combined and must be planned in, not rushed.
The skills assessed
The course develops independent creative thinking, sustained practical investigation and development, critical analysis of art and design, and the critical evaluation of your own work. Each is evidenced in a part of the portfolio: the first two across the practical sheets, the third in the contextual analysis, the fourth in the evaluation.
How Advanced Higher differs from Higher
Advanced Higher (SCQF level 7) raises the demand from Higher (level 6) to independent, self-directed practice: you drive your own sustained body of work, take creative risks, and resolve ideas with far less guidance, with deeper, more analytical written work. The standard is pitched at the first year of a Scottish degree.
How to use this module
Confirm your route, map the marks across the three sections, plan a coherent set of sheets within the 6 to 12 range, start the contextual analysis early, and keep a record of your creative decisions so the evaluation reflects real reasoning. Always work from the current SQA course specification and submission guidance.