video support with Highers

[hosnav]

My son is about to move from GCSEs to Highers. For his GCSE courses he has really benefited from youtube channels and online programmes specifically designed to support kids with the course content and with exam prep. Do such things exist for Scottish Highers? Or are the students just dependent on what their school provides? My son has really struggled with following the teaching of one of his school teachers so the online content he can access has been really crucial in his ongoing progress. I am also realising that while for GCSE there is a textbook created by the exam board for each course (as well as many others by other publishers) yet there don't seem to be official text books for Highers - is that correct?

Can't advise on video support specific to Higher, but there are plenty textbooks available - DD1 found the How to Pass Higher series good for science subjects - and past papers are available from the SQA website.

Highers have changed a fair bit in recent years so do check you are using info for the current syllabus. You child's school teachers will be the best placed for that. A tutor might be an idea in the subject he finds hardest.

There are so many Higher video resources on YouTube due to the lockdown even more than there was before. For example, look up Larbert maths and mr smith physics - not necessarily saying they are the best but certainly ones my children have used. There are also Higher textbooks for most subjects. Some subjects also have access to Scholar which provides online material - your school may get access to this. Look up e-sgoil ,which the Scottish government have opened up to all Scottish students this year, to access Online lessons and tutorials.

There are many, many resources out there for Highers.

If you posted the highers it might be possible to direct you - English, Maths are bound to have books available.

How to Pass
Leckie
Brightred
Teejay

Are the books ds had used, varies by subject which are best. Some have their own online content, depending on subject.

Ds searches specific topics on YouTube for videos and finds lots.

Sqa understanding standards site is also very helpful for some subjects.

BBC bitesize is good for a lot of subjects as is this: www.e-sgoil.com/ for live lessons but worth checking content options e.g units covered in Geog are the correct ones.
It's all in English, not Gaelic.

Thanks for the replies. I did see the study guides available - my point was more that there isn't an 'official' textbook actually published directly by the exam board, as there is for GCSE. The ones by random publishers can be equally as good no doubt, but somehow having the exam board one is reassuring in the sense that you know it's following the syllabus to the letter. I also find that the youtube/online materials are somehow just easier for young people to digest than the text books and there is literally sooooooo much available for GCSE and A Level, yet Google brings up nothing for Highers. No doubt there will be cross-over in the content, but would be time consuming to try and cross-check.

He hasn't picked his Highers yet . . . I"m expecting that to happen in about March, would that be right? . . . he's still at his current school . . . will do his GCSEs in April/May and hoping to start his Highers course in mid June (a couple of weeks late because of cross over with GCSE exams). Depending on the choices columns, he will be doing Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English and Geography.

I should actually clarify that he's doing IGCSEs, so yes, still has exams this year!

Thanks for the links. No doubt when he is officially enrolled in his new school he will get access to some of these materials. He is anticipating doing a fair bit of studying during the summer break just to make sure he can bridge any obstacles that not having done National 5s create for him, which is why I am looking for supplementary materials.

There is an online service that might be useful - it’s subscription though but there might be a free trial you can use. What is your DC planning to do after school - his subject choice is v science based, why not maths? Many science based uni courses also want higher maths.

letsachieve.co.uk/

There's loads. Scholar is one website which runs tutorials - scholar.hw.ac.uk/ the kids log in using their "glow" login which is allocated by school.

Our school are also plugging e-sgoil www.e-sgoil.com/ which was originally developed as a way of offering a wider range of Highers and Advanced Highers to kids on islands where travelling to a different school isn't practical.

And lots of schools put out their own stuff too. If you google (for example) Higher Geography resources, the first page links to various schools around Scotland who have put together work books, presentations etc - all open for any student to look at.

No maths with physics and chemistry? You might want to speak to the school about that.

Agree that three sciences and no maths is unusual. Does he know what he wants to do long term? Even for something like Medicine he won't need all three; most people I know who are applying for medicine have Biology, Chemistry, Maths + two others.

@RaspberryCoulis and @dazedandconfusedd he wants to study Medicine and you have to have Chemistry plus two out of Biology, Physics and Maths. His least favourite of those is Maths . . . do you think that's a problem? He doesn't actually want to do English either but I read that most schools make it compulsary . . . is that right? He'd prefer to do psychology but the school he's most likely going to only offer that in S6, which seems odd to me. I was wondering if that may be negotiable if you have high enough grades in the Sciences at Nat 5 level.

@celtiethree thanks for the links - I will check them out.

I don’t know for sure but I would ask the school and call a few admissions departments at universities. I would be very wary of not doing higher maths.

The SQA publish books of past papers. I suppose if you had the know how you could decipher these to see what's in the exam? You certainly could for English but would need more technical knowledge for other subjects. The SQA publishes subject guidance which specifies what is required for each qualification but again, a bit of subject specific knowledge would help.
Leckie and Leckie books are pretty reliable, and I've used the odd Bright Red one in recent years. For English certainly there is an introduction to each chapter saying what is expected of you.

@hosnav Re psychology, a lot of schools only offer it as distance learning or day release in a college so is often only available to S6.

English is definitely not compulsory at Higher. Quite the norm where I teach for pupils to max out their A grades in S5 then come back to English in S6. Though the downside can be that candidates can then find the language section of the UCAT really difficult after a year away. Bit of a balancing act. I would say the Medicine applicants where I am tend to favour 3 sciences & Maths and English in S5. Then 3 AHs Including Biology and Chemistry in S6. But that's just my experience.

@dazedandconfusedd my understanding is that you can prove your mathematical ability through either Maths, Physics or Chemistry. I would however certaintly seek out the advice of the school when he makes his choices.

@Lidlfix thanks for that - it had occurred to me that he should maintain his Engilsh too for UCAT. He is currently on a predicted grade 9 for iGCSE English so I'm sure he'd have no bother with Higher; he just doesn't enjoy it as much as he enjoys Science.
If Higher Maths was calculator based, I don't think he'd hesitate but only one out of the two papers is calculator. For iGCSE higher tier (which is what he's doing) it is all calculator so not having that practise with mental maths is what puts him off. I'm sure it's not insurmountable but also see the value in playing to your own strengths.

hosnav I would speak to the school as well as university admissions.
Is it a school that has experience of kids getting into medicine every year? DC school has extra support group which meets regularly for “competitive entry” courses and they guide the kids through subject choices, work experience, interview etc. You may find the school have lots of info they can give you or if they don’t then can link you with someone who does.

Definitely text books for higher geography, we got given them by the school.
As pp mentioned Psychology S6 subject in Scotland.

@Sootess I am not sure yet if they offer any support but would very much doubt they have children going every year. I think they only have a 23% pass rate (is that measured at National 5 or Higher?). However, he has a very proactive mum who does her best to research the info that's out there

@Sootess I just double checked, and it's a 28% pass rate at Higher. What I don't understand is does that mean that only 28% of those who sit 5 highers get a grade C or above? Or does it mean only 28% of the whole school population go on to take and pass 5 Highers? Meaning that 72% either leave school, do vocational courses etc, leaving only a certain percentage of the 72% who sit 5 Highers but don't manage to secure their 5 Cs? @Lidlfix do you know what the published 'pass rate' is based on?

@hosnav my understanding of those stats means 28% of the year group left with 5 highers (which is university entrance standard) The rest left with less than that.

But I’m not in education, just a mum, so someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly