As thousands of pupils prepare to sit their national certificate exams next week, there is evidence of a strong vote of confidence in the new Intermediate qualifications. Entry figures for this year’s Intermediate 1 show a huge 30.3 per cent increase on last year, with 22,783 entries for individual exams, and figures for Intermediate 2 are up 16.4 per cent to 72,801.

Local authorities and schools are not rushing to follow the lead of St Ninian’s High in East Renfrewshire, which is ditching Standard grades almost entirely next session (national figures for Standard grade entries are down by only 0.7 per cent). However, many are worried about a lack of continuity and progression as individual schools or authorities implement change according to their own needs and timetables. There is a groundswell of opinion that new national guidelines must be drawn up, and soon, if radically different frameworks are not to give rise to a patchwork of provision that would be counterproductive and confusing.

Perth and Kinross is one local authority which has given a lot of thought to developing the new National Qualifications and is striving for clear and consistent strategies within its boundaries.

Jim Scott, headteacher at Perth High and author of Curriculum Design: Possible Uses of National Qualifications in S2-S4, a report which forms the basis of the authority’s development strategy, says: “We are trying to build a coherent, progressive curriculum from S2 to S6.

“We are consulting with students, staff and parents to develop a range of curriculum models.

“We’re thinking of starting the new curriculum in S2 and linking it to 5-14, so we have consulted with primary colleagues as well.

“We’re talking about doing away with Standard grades, but in session 2004-05 at the earliest because you have to work on a broad consensus, you need continuity for pupils moving schools and, at the end of the day, for pupils moving between local authorities.

“You need to establish a local authority consensus first and then seek to influence the national debate,” he says.

All the stakeholders - parents, teachers, pupils and employers - want a clear view, he argues.

“There’s no point to drifting into using a number of different qualifications for gap filling purposes. Radically different systems in different schools and different authorities will make it very hard to provide continuity and consistency in a pupil’s education.”

Mr Scott’s report presents six models, ranging from the status quo to - the most radical - the replacement of the Standard grade curriculum with a full National Qualifications curriculum focussing on five subjects per pupil per year. That is “the likely pathway” for Perth and Kinross, he says, though it has not yet been ratified by the council.

“It’s much easier for a young person to get into blocks of qualifications that build up from S2-S3. It should improve progression and widen qualifications,” he says.

For S4 school leavers, the more flexible timetable would allow for far more work experience, providing “a solid bridge to the world of work”, and still allow them to take eight or nine topics over two years.

However, the gains will be across the board. “Top end students will be able to proceed more at their own pace than they can with Standard grade and less able pupils will be able to progress through Access 3,” Mr Scott says.

This approach, he believes, would homogenise the teaching groups, bringing together pupils of the same abilities across a range of ages and allow a broader curriculum within a school.

Mixing pupils of different ages does raise concerns about maturity, especially in smaller schools where S3, S4 and S5 pupils may be working in one class at the same level, though for most schools a two-year mix is more likely.

Mr Scott believes the new timetabling will benefit subjects which sometimes struggle to get numbers because the class will be able to draw from two year stages.

Perth High has now brought in Access 3 and 2 courses in modern languages to support less able pupils in S3 and S4 on the basis that Standard grade puts an enormous demand on them. Similar courses are planned for sciences next session.

Mr Scott’s report raises three major questions over implementation of the radical model across the board. The first concerns continuity in modern languages, English and maths. “Is it enough for a student to reach an appropriate level of literacy, numeracy or linguistic skill at the end of S3 and then let that mode go?” He believes the answer is yes, given the Scottish Executive’s guidance on flexibility in the curriculum.

The second concerns maturity. “Could an S3 student go straight into Intermediate 2 (and pass)? Is this possible from a 5-14 launch pad? Is it desirable?”

The third question is straightforward. “Would an able child (or, indeed, any child) attain fewer, as many or more passes at given levels as in the current system?”

The report argues for the “enormous potential” for students to achieve “more (andor better) levels of attainment and for schools to use the existing staff resources much more efficiently” under the proposed model and concludes that there are genuine opportunities to use National Qualification courses “to improve teaching, learning and attainment in S3 and S4 for some or all pupils”.

Rob Hands, the principal teacher of geography at Perth High, believes that ability related teaching, rather than the present age-and-stage related teaching, would be better. He feels the present Intermediate geography courses do not articulate well with the Higher courses because the syllabus and pace of learning are different, but these are teething problems.

“It would be good to see a provision that was consistent. If Standard grade went we would be able to provide better Intermediate 1 and 2 courses because the whole of S3 and S4 would be doing them and the courses would be more taught than they are at the moment, where students rely a lot on self-support.”

Dougie Hamilton, the principal teacher of art at Perth High, also thinks that teaching to ability rather than age would benefit pupils more and, for his subject, sees replacing Standard grade with Intermediate courses across the board as straightforward. He feels strongly that Standard grade is “stale” but that change should not be piecemeal in either schools or local authorities.

“Standard grade has become an anomaly. Higher Still always implied its demise. I think the SEED (Scottish Executive Education Department), the Scottish Qualifications Authority and the Scottish Executive have held on to it because it was tried and tested, while Higher Still was bedded in.

“They seem to be letting schools and local authorities lead the way in removing it for the moment. But that can’t go on. They’ll have to centralise the work being piloted by local authorities.

“This has to be part of the national debate. It’s crucial to the future of Scottish education.”