subject choices

[TinyChancer]

DD has selected her 5 Highers for next year. She's also to enter a reserve subject in case she can't do those 5 Highers. She's panicking now that she'll have to take the reserve subject. How likely is it that her initial choices won't be possible? What kind of scenario causes that? She's picked Maths, English, D&M, History and RMPS.

Various scenarios in theory. Not getting Nat 5 grade to support progression to Higher, subject over subscribed, subject under subscribed and only on offer at another school, timetable clashes. Probably best ask the school for clarification to be honest.

Mine were all asked to do similar. I remember someone asking at an information evening and they said it was to help planning rather than depriving students of 1st choices. At my DCs school there were lots of changes after results day.

Depends on the size of the school too. There are 210 kids in each year at my kids' school, very few leave at the end of S4. So there is lots of demand for Higher.

In some niche subjects they run it every other year - DD wanted to do Higher Food and Nutrition, the uptake is historically quite low so although it ran last year when she was in S5, it's not running this year when she is in S6. Any S5s who wanted to take it this year will have the chance to do it next year in S6 - although obviously it won't count in the "5 Highers in one sitting" rule.

Our kids get asked to do this but it is very uncommon not to get first choice. It will depend on the timetable and demand for choices. Probably more common if you have an unusual combination of choices. I would just ask the school, I’m sure that will reassure your DD.

In our school, in an average year with a cohort of around 160, approx 10 will not receive all their first choices.