Today’s practice of issuing awards to students is no longer confined to academic performance. Students now are taking part in a wider range of school activities and programs, thus fostering the discovery and development of talents and strengths. Whether these are core subject-related or extra-curricular, they matter in a student’s holistic development.

Just as employees can yearn for recognition, so too are students motivated by acknowledgment and reward. A teacher’s simple praise of a student’s work can hearten and inspire a young learner. The classroom is the stepping stone to the corporate world and real-life, after all. 

And although pursuing excellence and working towards the greater good can have their own rewards, issuing study certificates can offer important acknowledgment and support. The most tangible form of reward for students will be through certifications.

What Is a Study Certificate?

A study certificate is an educational certificate rewarded to a candidate by the Block Education officer or the board the organisation is affiliated to. Oftentimes, study certificate can also refer to other certificates of the likes of achievement, participation, and so on. More on this later!

With these certificates, students have a reminder of their accomplishments. In addition, certificates serve as proof of their skillset and experience. These can act as a transcript to getting the job they want in the future.

This article will answer these target questions:

1. Why do school certificates matter to a student’s education?
2. What are the types of school certificate formats awarded to students?
3. Are there free downloadable school certificate templates for students?
4. Which websites can I find customizable student certificate templates online?

What Is The Format of a School Study Certificate?

The school certificate format depends on the school administration guidelines. For documents as important as school certifications, the distribution shall first go through the proper office for approval on the style and usage of the name, official seal, and logo of the institution. The standard format for school certifications must contain: 

• legal name of the academic institution;
• name of the certification;
• awardee’s full name;
• location, the event, and date issued; and  
• signatures of relevant parties. 

Student certificate format may vary from organization to organization. Some study certificates may have additional details like course name and period, examination details, etc.

Here’s a typical student certificate format.

Following is an example list of school study certificate types that students receive at school.

List of School Study Certificate Templates for Students

Here are the 10 school study certificate formats students receive during their schooling.

1. Certificate of Completion
2. Certificate of Training
3. Certificate of Perfect Attendance
4. Certificate of Academic Excellence
5. Certificate of Achievement
6. Certificate of Participation
7. Certificate of Appreciation
8. Certificate of Recognition
9. Special Awards
10. Graduate Certificate/Diploma

1. Certificate of Completion

A certificate of completion recognizes a student’s fulfillment of requirements for a specified course of study. This certification can often qualify a student for a new position or step in their career.   

2. Certificate of Training

An academic institution awards a student a certificate of training upon successful completion of a program. These programs are usually either individual training sessions or an entire training program in a specific field. The certificate format for this award includes the name of the training program, the name of the student graduate, the specific qualification earned, and the date of issuance.

3. Certificate of Perfect Attendance

Academic institutions often award a certificate for those students with perfect attendance for the quarter or semester. This certificate allows the school to recognize the conscientiousness and self-discipline inherent to a perfect attendance record. And, of course, it motivates students to keep up their outstanding track record. No one likes to let a perfect record slip. 

4. Certificate of Academic Excellence

A certificate of academic excellence is an award given to students for outstanding academic achievement. A school will usually grant this award on a quarterly or semester basis. Along with the school logo, title of certification, and the name of the awardee, the student’s grade is also on the school certificate template. The school grade can be for a specific subject area that the student excels in or the overall average for the period.

5. Certificate of Achievement

This certificate of achievement template awards students for achieving a particular goal that generated excellent results and outcomes. The award will usually go to those participating in school contests and will recognize an individual or team for their part in the competition.  

6. Certificate of Participation

Associated with the certificate of achievement, this school certificate (sometimes called a certificate of attendance) recognizes all those who were present at an important function or special event. This school certificate format for student participation acknowledges the contribution of all the attendees.   

7. Certificate of Appreciation

The award template for a student’s outstanding service to the school is a certificate of appreciation. A school can award this certificate when a certain individual, group, or section of students contributed to the success of a particular school event. It offers special recognition to those students who were exemplary in fulfilling their role on the project, and as group members.

8. Certificate of Recognition

The certificate of recognition is another school certificate template suitable for acknowledging student participation in a field of endeavor. This award recognizes a student for their contribution and service to the school. The school can also choose to reward a student’s contribution with a medallion, ribbon, trophy, or plaque on a special recognition day offered by the institution.

9. Special Awards

Schools can customize templates to issue special awards for specific or unusual forms of recognition. Class advisors most familiar with the special program or specifications can create the templates. 

These awards should include the school logo, title of the specific award, name of the student, and the date of issuance of the award. It should also contain the name of the class or section the student belongs to and, of course, the name of the school or issuing organization.  

10. Graduate Certificate/Diploma

This award is an important document conveying a significant honor and distinction for the awardee. The school grants a diploma to students upon completion of an academic course of study. 

While usually associated with senior high schools, universities, and vocational schools, many schools now award diplomas to mark important milestones for younger students. The template will allow for signatures by school administrators as a formal issuance of the diploma.

Sites Where you can Create and Customize Student Certificates For Free

Canva

Canva offers a pool of school certificate templates that are editable for use. The site provides free templates for different certificate formats in each award category. The collection of certificate layouts are easy to customize as you can add an image or logo to the template. 

Canva provides many styles and themes of certificate designs for your school certificate needs. They allow you to edit your certificate templates online and download them for free. 

Their premium account offers improved and more varied designs for school certificates. There are also better choices for font variation and typeface in the premium category.

Hloom

Another reliable site for creating school certificates is Hloom. The certificate templates they offer are readily available and customizable, per your format. 

Hloom encourages users to make use of a typeface suitable for a professional-looking award. You may choose to add stock images and photos from Pexels and Freepik to the template. The site also suggests adding color that is part of your school branding color scheme for a polished, custom look.

Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark also offers dozens of free certificate templates. Their interface will allow you to design creative school certificates instantly. They offer a wide choice of layouts for award designations per your specific needs. 

Adobe Spark also includes a design page where you can personalize the designs to fit your school branding. When using Adobe Spark, it will be up to the user to add elements and experiment with the layouts. The font style and format of a school certificate are also up for customization. It’s possible to produce professional-looking school certificates in a matter of minutes.

Template.Net

Creating a print-ready template for school certificates is simple with Templates.Net. Give your awards an especially congratulatory tone with their accessible and customizable layouts. Their design page requires minimal formatting and data input. Upon completing the school certificates, you can download and digitally share the template. There are a variety of selections for each award category. And for their Pro members, Templates.Net has even more designs available. 

Awardbox

And finally, you can customize your school certificates at Awardbox. Their multiple layout options give you pointers on style and usage for your school certificate format. The site provides step-by-step guidelines for editing. They also have an accessible designer page that offers printable certificate templates. 

AwardBox has a preview button that allows you to check the edited school certificate. And you can download your personalized school certificates for free. Choose the ‘PDF format’ for direct printing and ‘Download Image’ to use in social media. 

FAQs

Final Words

Creating school certificates for students doesn’t have to be a tedious job. There are a lot of sites online that offer a pool of readily available templates.

You no longer need to worry about how to design or layout any school certificate. Formats may vary from school to school, but they all share a core purpose in recognizing the achievements and contributions of their students. 

The awarding of a school certificate in recognition of exceptional conduct or achievement is a pinnacle moment for both the school and its students. A student’s success is the school’s success; an acknowledgment that the school itself has served its mission and its purpose well.