School Diploma

The Diploma is a diploma (as the name implies) awarded at the end of the 12th grade. It is was introduced during Colonial Antarctica as part of the Integrated School Law and has been heavily revised to the controversial state it's in under the 'Alseef Laws'. It is used in the United States of Antarctica, the Geek Empire and Dorkugal. The Diploma has been heavily criticised for relying on a single final paper per subject, each with just 100 questions per paper that will determine your final grade and many alternatives are used by independent and charter schools, plus the state schools in the Polaris SAD education system, along with the other requirements for being awarded the Diploma, such as the fact you must have no grade below C (even if you score all As with the exception of a single D you will not receive the Diploma). Alseef has no plan to make any changes, along with the fiercely conservative South Pole Council.

Core components and requirements

Students are required to take and finish 8 classes in K-12 school, including Maths, in order to be eligible for the Diploma. The other 7 subjects usually taken are History, Geography, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English and a non-English language, although Further Maths, Extended Further Maths and Extremely Extended Further Maths are allowed to be taken in the place of other subjects (in order to do Extended Further Maths you must do Further Maths and so on). Students rarely take more than 8 subjects, as failing one can mean you will not be awarded the Diploma. A minimum of a straight C is required to be awarded the Diploma, nothing below a C is allowed, not even for one subject. At the end of Grade 12, students take a paper in the subject they are studying, each with 100 questions. The grades are a F (1 - 19 answers right), E (20 - 39 answers right), D (40 - 59 answers right), C (60 - 79 answers right), B (80 - 89 answers right), A (90 - 95 answers right) and A+ (96 - 100 answers right). Finally, you must attend the graduation ceremony, no matter the excuse; even if you're severely sick, you must attend.

Drama, Music, Art, Physical Education and Design and Technology, along with other vocational qualifications, do not count towards the Diploma. Only a handful of schools, such as Penguin Academy, may allow vocational subjects to be taken as an option.

Formerly, all subjects, including vocational ones, were allowed to be taken under Colonial Antarctica, although Maths, English and Core Science (a former class) were compulsory. The tests were slightly different, with a series of tests rather than a single one, although the majority were papers, with the exception of the practical examinations in the Science subjects (these have been scrapped since) and vocational exams. In the early years, there was even coursework. However the tests were easier during Colonial Antarctica; there has been a decline in students obtaining As. The C is the most common grade obtained; in many schools, no one obtains a single A+. In Extremely Extended Further Maths, only Fred Antics' students have been able to pass it - and even there many of the grades were Cs.

Types

There are several 'honours' the Diploma comes with:

• Bronze Honours Diploma - The majority of grades are Cs. The majority of creatures obtain this.
• Silver Honours Diploma - The majority of grades are Bs. A smaller minority obtain this, though they're large enough.
• Gold Honours Diploma - The majority of grades are As. Only a handful of creatures have obtained this.
• Platinum Honours Diploma - The majority of grades are A+. Almost nobody ever obtains this; Fred Antics is one of the few penguins who has.

There are also 'Maths honours', implemented in the first of the Alseef rules:

• Double Maths Honours - Passed both Maths and Further Maths.
• Triple Maths Honours - Passed Maths, Further Maths and Extended Further Maths.
• Quadtriple Maths Honours - Passed all four Maths classes. Only Fred's students have obtained this.