Originally to gain School Certificate proper, students had to achieve an average score of at least 50 percent and a "C" grade (50–64%) or better in all subjects (including English and mathematics). Latterly this changed to three subjects and by the final years of school certificate, students could progress to the sixth form (year 12) if they narrowly missed these criteria but had an overall score of 180 in their top four subjects. This was at the discretion of the school.
