NPA Computer Games Development units

We recently developed three new NPAs relating to computer games, entitled NPA in Computer Games Development at SCQF 4, 5 and 6. I spent most of Friday doing final checks on the units that make up these awards.

The original proposal was a single award (at Level 4) composed of existing units but, after consultation, this changed significantly - to three awards consisting of entirely new units. So what was originally a small development became quite a large project. But I think it's been worth it. The new awards look good, and I was impressed with the quality of the units. The Qualification Development Team has done a great job.

The awards are "hierarchical", which is SQA-speak for having identical structures (at all three levels), which enables students to focus on the contents of the courses - and come out with the highest level that they are capable of achieving. I think that these awards could be very popular in schools and colleges. They chime well with the aspirations of the Curriculum for Excellence, and provide an interesting and up-to-date way for students to gain a range of skills, including problem solving, enterprise, communication and, of course, IT skills.

We hope to launch these new qualifications at this year's Scottish Learning Festival so look out for us at that event. In the meantime, contact Hilary if you want to know more about these new qualifications. The Arrangements and unit specifications will appear on the SQA website in the near future. We will produce assessment support packs in the next few months.