Prelim exams

In Scottish schools, Preliminary Examinations (commonly known as Prelim Exams) are exams set in high schools after about two-thirds of a subject's course has been completed, often around December for S4 pupils, and February for S5/S6 pupils.

They are very similar in format to the SQA Exams, and are designed to give the pupils a mock run, showing them how they would perform had that been exam day. The grade a pupil receives has no bearing on their final result on exam day: a pupil can get 0% in a Prelim, and pass a final exam. Schools use prelims as an early warning system of sorts, to note which pupils need to push harder, or need help. Pupils often look at their prelim results, work in the areas where improvement is needed, and improve their mark in the final exam.

Should a pupil get a better mark in their prelim than their exam, the school can appeal on behalf of the pupil to the SQA. However, not all appeals are accepted.

Pupils tend to find prelim exams more difficult that final exams, and some argue the schools deliberately make prelims as difficult as possible and mark them more strictly than they would had it been the final exam, albeit with good meaning, to show pupils the right way to handle an exam, and for solid appeal use should the pupil do well in a prelim. This is disputed by teachers.

At Oxford University Preliminary Examinations (Prelims) also refer to one form of the First Public Examination at the University of Oxford, usually held at the end of the First Year. Prelims results do not contribute to final degree classification, but they must be passed to progress to the final years of courses, known as the Final Honour Schools.

See also

• Education in Scotland
• Standard Grade
• Higher Grade
• Advanced Higher