The Professional Development Awards in Software Development level 7 focuses on skills in computer programming.

The qualification aims to equips learners with a wide range of underpinning knowledge and skills relevant to computer programming, together with practical skills in software maintenance and program testing.

Areas covered include software development analysis, design and implementation. There is also a software development project where learners will have opportunities to work within a programming project team and apply project management techniques to the software development process.

Falkirk High School is the only school in the authority which offers this course as an alternative to the Advanced Higher.

The 3 units for the course are

• Analysis & Design
• Implementation & Testing
• Project

To complete the Award, pupils will be expected to create a portfolio of work as evidence of successful completion of each of the units. The Analysis & Design and Implementation & Testing units include a multiple-choice theory test which learners will undertake on SQA Solar.