Urgent: advice re: High Skl/ CforE / subjects choices etc

[ARoomSomewhere]

coming from the English system (eldest would go into Y2 High Skl)

can anyone tell me about this (as scottish skls now closed) and how it compares to the English system?

If your eldest is going into S2, he won't have to be making choices yet (depending on the school, usually done at end of S2 at the earliest - and others only end of S3).

When is your eldest's birthday? If you say he/she is going into S2, I presume she/he is just finishing Y8.

Depending on the school, they will make their choices towards the end of S2, with a view to doing (if they are academic) 8 National 5s in S4 and will them go onto to do 5 Highers in S5 (and then a whole range of different permutations in S6 if they choose to stay on, including Advanced Highers, more Highers, re-sitting Highers or Nat 5s).

If the school only makes the choices in S3, then they will do fewer Nat 5s, but technically will have the option to "crash" other subjects for Higher in S5 or S6 as they will have studied the broad range of subjects in greater depth.

It's a completely different system and I wouldn't really try and compare the two. If you look in Scotsnet you will find a few threads that are not that old that will try and explain the differences.

For your DC the eldest if they are going into Y2 then they will follow the broad and general curriculum. If you can advise which council area that you are moving into then people of here will be able to give you more specific advise. Typically subjects are not chosen until S3 or S4 depending on how your school has set themselves up for the nat 4/nat 5s.

The school years to not align directly with English school years, cut of is end of Feb not the start of Sept, with many Jan/Feb or sometimes Nov/Dec being deferred so the age range in each year is often 15 months from youngest to oldest. Have you checked that S2 is definitely the year group that your DC will join?

Just to clarify my answer - it ties in with prettybirds chose subjects towards the end of S2 for starting in S3 or S3 starting in S4 for those schools that teach nat5s over 1 year.

It can be quite different across local authorities. We are in East Ayrshire and they choose 9 subjects at the end of S1, then drop down to 7 at the end of S3 which they then study for their Nat 4 of Nat 5 exams at the end of S4.

They go up to the next year and start the next year's work after the easter holidays in his school.