S6 option choices - has anyone done YASS?

[WeAllHaveWings]

Ds is in S5 and his school has said they will be looking for them to choose S6 options soon.

NAT5s were Maths, Application of Maths, Physics, Chemistry, English, French, Modern Studies and PE (all teacher graded as A's, although I think he was very lucky with Modern Studies and English, as he was way behind studying these as he didn't enjoy)

This year he is doing Higher - Maths (strong A), Physics and Chemistry (hopefully A's if he works hard), French (doesn't like but is targeted A), English (likely to be low B).

He is unsure what he wants to do when he leaves school but currently he is thinking something in Engineering. Our school does not do Computing Studies or Engineering Skills NAT5 or Higher.

He is pretty sure he will do AH Maths and AH Physics.

He has to pick two other subjects. AH Chemistry would mean going to another school so he isn't keen on the logistics of it and potential clashes. He cannot wait to drop English and French!

No interest in taking ModStud to Higher, maybe do PE Higher but it would just be for interest rather than a career. There isn't really anything else he fancies doing a Crash Higher in - maybe Admin & IT for some Microsoft Office skills.

An option that is available is he does a YASS course through school. T192 Engineering Origins, Methods and Context. These are self study OU courses - the blurb says The courses carry 10 or 30 credit points and are first year university-level 1, or SCQF level 7. This means they are equivalent to an Advanced Higher level

They recommend 8-10 hours of study a week (this will be once choice in school timetable so 6 periods would be in school). Has anyone's dc done one of these YASS 30 credit points courses and how did they find them alongside AHs?

I've not heard of those but could he consider doing a self taught statistics AH if he is good at maths? 2 of my DS did this. There was minimal oversight from another school's teacher but it was pretty much self study. A good discipline IMO.

A colleagues DS did a IT course (might have been cyber security?) distance learning for one of his topics - he's now doing software engineering at uni. So presume same principle.

Hi dd did one of these alongside 2 AH in 6th year. She found it interesting and enjoyed it but I don't think it counted for any UCAS points.

DD did a 30 unit economics YASS alongside 2AHs and a higher She loved the YASS.Tutor was super. She even managed to go to a couple of face to face tutorials before lockdown. They don't has UCAS points but you can add to your UCAS form. She found she didnt need the amount if time they said.

Yes dd thought the support and feedback were good and it was something a little bit different to mention in applications

Yes, we use YASS course but would only recommend for those who are self motivated. Many students do enjoy them but don’t count for UCAS. It is a good way to experience a more independent style of learning.

Sounds like a brilliant way to prepare for Uni. For some students it will be great, for my own S6 it would have been a disaster!

Thanks for all the comments. I think he needs to spend a bit of time right now looking at the different Engineering disciplines, then Uni/Gradate apprenticeship requirements and refine a bit further wants he wants to do.

eg. if he likes the ideal of Chemical Engineering he would need to think about the Chemistry AH. For Mechanical Engineering chemistry wouldn't be needed etc.

Statistic AH is an interesting option and will mention that to him too.

How many subjects do your S6's study in school? Ours says 5 and you can drop one if you do one or more AH. 3AH and/or Yass and another Higher sounds like a big ask. Do some schools allow you to drop to 3 subjects if all AH level?

I think ours were allowed to fill 4 of the 5 columns and leave the 5th for study and one of the 4 could be something like the charity team or similar. DS1 did 3 AHs and nothing else. DS2 did 1AH, 2 Highers and resit Nat5 I think. All becoming a bit of a blur now but I know neither did 5 academic classes.

Dd did 2AH and the Yass module but she also had quite a bit of extra curricular stuff. I agree YASS requires self motivation but is good preparation for uni type study.

My sons' school will allow students to take just 3 AHs and nothing else except an extra curricular/volunteering role. Unis do not normally require more than this (alongside fifth year highers).

DD did 2AH, 1 YASS and one Higher. School insisted on 4 subjects or 3AHs. Managed to juggle everything although was helped by exams being cancelled.