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Original poster

English higher syllabus

28 replies

nolassie · 09/09/2015 11:55

Can somebody tell me what texts their child is expected to know when they're sitting their Higher English? Just x number of novels, y poetry, z plays. DS reckons he's doing one play and then poetry for the rest of the year. The school has a really bad English department that has been failing for years but really surpassed itself last year in not teaching 2 classes the curriculum at all. What DS is telling me doesn't sound right but I can't see anything on SQA website just stuff about learning outcomes etc. TIA

OP posts:
WankerDeAsalWipe · 09/09/2015 12:39

We are midst Nat 5s rather than Highers yet, but would it be worth looking at some past papers? Appreciate there wont be much if it's "new" highers, but might get some idea from the questions whether it's possible to answer them based on just a play and poems.

Original poster
nolassie · 09/09/2015 15:22

Thanks, just had a look at the last paper, wow its changed since my day! L
Loads of different areas you can study/ answer questions on. It looks like he could get away with one play and poems but still seems wrong to ONLY study that.

I was talking to him about forgetting his iPad before bed and getting back into the habit of reading a book to help with exam prep in general - I asked what he was reading in English and "nothing' was the reply "we're not doing books this year". That's just wrong, no?

OP posts:
WankerDeAsalWipe · 09/09/2015 16:24

Seems wrong to me too - my DS1 is still a big reader - when denied computer access. DS2 only really seems to read factual books at the moment although is into game of thrones too.

He is to read a biography of any person who has ever lived and has chosen Alexander the great - he's 3rd year so not for exams as such. I have no idea if DS1 (4th year ) has any specific texts to read. he just seems to be reading his own books.

DS2 also has head buried in 1000 (computer) games to play before you die

AssembleTheMinions · 10/09/2015 19:44

Dd1 did higher English this year and as far as I remember, did one play (All my sons) and one book (The Cone Gatherers) Other classes did different ones so I suppose the teacher deicdes.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 10/09/2015 19:47

Is this any use at all?
www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/47904.html

AgentProvocateur · 10/09/2015 19:49

Nothing to add, except to say that All My Sons is one of my favourite plays, and The Cone Gatherers is one of my favourite novels. Smile

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 10/09/2015 19:49

Also this?
www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/zqxhfg8

Lidlfix · 10/09/2015 20:01

Higher English looks like this now - 30 marks Folio (2 pieces) submitted to SQA in spring. Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation 30 marks Paper 1 in exam. Paper 2 Critical Reading (this is where the literature studied comes in) section one Critical Essay questions covering all genres and 'open' enough to cover a very extensive range of texts 20 marks. Section 2 The Scottish Text 20 marks on teacher taught text by a Scottish writer also 20 marks. The full list of the options are on the SQA site. A different genre must be answered on in each section. So yes if your DC is studying poetry for Critical Essay element and a play for Scottish Text they might not cover a novel. Sad and restrictive but that said I like the new Higher. Wanker - Nat 5 similar structure and some Scottish Texts bilevel to allow for bilevel classes in Senior Phase. HTH

AssembleTheMinions · 10/09/2015 20:10

Agent I fear Dd1 does not share the love with you! Grin Endless whining about both of them. She's more a Shakespeare gal, did Macbeth for Nat5 and loved it.

Lidlfix · 10/09/2015 20:11

There are 2 sample papers available online to give you an idea what the new qualification looks like and this year's actual exam will be released soon. Leckie and Leckie also published a sample paper book and more revision resources are becoming available. For those with DC doing The Cone Gatherers BBC Bitesize revision using Daniel Sloss was a great help and big hit with my Nat 5s last year.

WankerDeAsalWipe · 10/09/2015 20:54

Thanks Lidl - DS1 tells me nothing!

HMF1 · 11/09/2015 10:03

DS2 is doing higher English this year, they are studying one novel, the Cone Gatherers, a play Death of a Salesman & a film The Godfather, I am assuming they will do some poetry as well. This isn't in terms of the volume of literature studied much different from his brother who sat the old higher. I think the real difficulty for most of them is the critical reading, which seems to be very much about learning the technique.

OOAOML · 11/09/2015 12:26

Seems weird they're not doing any novels. In my day (too long ago to be relevant) we studied several novels by one author, one play, and poetry (I think one poet, but it may have been several). I seem to remember with the novels there was quite a lot of focus on common themes across several books.

Neeko · 12/09/2015 18:20

Sadly the new CfE Higher in English is tight on time and restricts breadth of study in literature. Pupils only need to study a Scottish text (which can be 6 poems by a Scottish author, a novel or a play) and one other text from a different genre for the critical essay. The focus from above is on exam passes rather than an appreciation of literature. I'd be surprised if you found many H English classes that cover more literature than the minimum. Breaks my heart.

Rainuntilseptember15 · 12/09/2015 18:24

As far as reading books goes, reading extensively should surely increase a child's vocabulary and help with the exam even if not "required". At school and uni we were always advised to read other work by the same author, and there are biographies/critical works too.

Neeko · 12/09/2015 21:38

Reading broadsheet editorial news articles is really beneficial to developing their vocabulary and familiarising them with the type of text that they will encounter in paper one of the exam.

OOAOML · 13/09/2015 13:30

Only 6 poems Neeko? That is quite limiting. I remember (CSYS so slightly different) studying the whole of Fishermen with Ploughs by George Mackay Brown. God, they were amazing. So much in there to explore. I can't imagine just 6 poems. And even at Higher for the literature paper we studied several novels.

OOAOML · 13/09/2015 13:32

Forgot to say, we read Magnus as well in conjunction with his poems.

Neeko · 14/09/2015 23:00

I know. I used to teach a broad variety of texts to my Higher class. It was my favourite part of teaching. Such a shame. The onus is most definitely on the exam outcome these days. No one in authority seems to understand the importance of learning that can't be measured purely by exam performance. Sad

prettybird · 05/10/2015 00:45

Ds is only in S4 and doing his Nat 5 this year - but he's in the top set and his teacher has really been pushing the class. He did "Of Mice and Men" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" (which he loved) last year and is currently studying "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". He also studied Macbeth and poetry by Carol Ann Duffy last year.

He's also been working on his close reading.

This is a state school in Glasgow.

It does sound like your ds' English Department is being lazy if they're only going to cover the absolute minimum for the Higher. What happens if your ds isn't comfortable with the questions on "his" texts in the Higher exam? He's got nothing else to fall back on Hmm

howabout · 07/10/2015 10:32

Better to cover the required elements thoroughly than take a broad brush approach to covering more imho. Having looked at one text in class if a pupil then wants to extend the techniques to other texts they should have all the skills in place.

Also, many a well loved classic text completely spoilt for enjoyment value after hours of analysis in class. I have not been able to bring myself to look at George MacKay Brown since my school days. Mercifully Burns, Ian McEwan, Eric Linklater, Alasdair Gray and Ian Banks were left for me to discover on my own.

Good to see Death of a Salesman is still being studied as I definitely think it speaks to the current climate.

OOAOML · 07/10/2015 14:00

I still love George Mackay Brown but Thomas Hardy and Macbeth are pretty much ruined for me. And I've never really appreciated Tennessee Williams after a) studying several of them and b) studying them with an utterly cr*p teacher.

It does help (well, it really helped me, but then I realise I sat my school exams a long time ago) to have a good range of texts to quote from and use to illustrate an argument.

Hopefully children will still get the opportunity to read/study more widely - I had a brilliant English teacher who used to bring in his own books for me and then set me extra work on them. Fair enough some might be best concentrating on the minimum requirements, but I'd like to think most were getting more out of it than that.

tilliebob · 09/10/2015 15:36

Eldest DS is studying The Slab Boys trilogy and A bloody awful Clockwork Orange for Higher.

howabout · 09/10/2015 15:52

Clockwork Orange knocks spots off Animal Farm and 1984 surely? It is one of my favourite books but I don't like the film. The Slab Boys is one of the first plays I went to see at the Citizens. Great to see they have just revived it.

Now I have had to go back and read Robert Browning's My Last Duchess which I did I think for higher. The Duke in that story is a thoroughly unpleasant piece of work.

OOAOML · 09/10/2015 16:29

Clockwork Orange is one of the books I was given to read in 2nd year by my wonderful English teacher - but when I look back and consider that I was 12 at the time, I'm not so sure it was a good idea. It might have helped to study it, but just to let me go off and read it...not sure I'll be encouraging my 12 year old to read it. Animal Farm though I would say is easily accessible pre-Higher.