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Original poster

Crashing Modern Stduies- bad idea?

14 replies

KingCatMeowInSpace · 27/03/2023 16:14

My son is in S4 and thinking of crashing Higher Modern Studies in S5. Any of your kids done this before? Found it hard having not done Nat 5 first? He's doing Nat 5 History and doing well and plans on taking Higher history in S5 too.

OP posts:

MrsAmaretto · 27/03/2023 16:26

A very, very long time ago but I crashed higher modern studies and geography after doing standard grade history. The skills are transferrble across social subjects. My niece certainly crashed a higher in social subjects last year and did well - can’t remember which.

RoseDog · 27/03/2023 16:35

My Ds done crash higher modern studies last year in S5, he got a C with minimal effort or interest 🤦🏼‍♀️, his teacher had said he could easily get a B or even an A if he tried but he thought he knew better!

Lidlfix · 27/03/2023 18:15

The structure for answering questions is very similar so if he has been able to master it for History chances are he should be ok for Modies. Higher Modies course content seems interesting/ I know lots of my pupils use topics they've covered to inspire their English Folios. His History teacher may be asked for their input regarding his suitability for crashing.

NicolaSturGONE · 27/03/2023 18:22

Long time ago for me too but I also crashed Higher Modern Studies in S6. Got a high B (teacher was pissed at me for not getting an A cause I got an A in the prelim but there was one question worth 2 marks in the final that I went blank on) . Found it very easy overall.

Invisimamma · 27/03/2023 18:59

About 16 years ago I did it as a crash higher and got an A. If they have strong essay writing skills they will be fine.

Original poster

KingCatMeowInSpace · 27/03/2023 20:32

Thanks all- yes he's managing Nat 5 history well and is interested in news/current affairs in general so I think he'll enjoy the subject ok and assume the question types n essay style will be similar to history- have told him to speak to his history teacher tomorrow to ask what she thinks about his ability to do well if he does both higher History and higher modern studies- will see what she says.

OP posts:

Aurea · 28/03/2023 07:05

My son crashed higher mods in S5. It was a big class and I don't think the teacher guided him (took account of the fact that he hadn't done Nat 5) as much as she could as his dissertation was very low marked due to the fact he included lots of facts that couldn't be assigned a mark due to the dates being too long ago for ' modern studies'. This should have been picked up by the teacher at some point. He got a B grade in the end but he then went on to to do advanced higher mods in S6 and got an A grade. For context he also did a CRASH advanced higher in RMPS in S6 and got an easy A.

KnittingNeedles · 28/03/2023 07:52

DD is currently doing this. She did Higher History and Geography last year and is doing H Moddie in S6, last time she did it was S2. No issues. If he's doing OK in similar subjects then ask the teachers for advice, they will know whether he could cope well or not.

WeAllHaveWings · 28/03/2023 17:57

ds crashed Highers in S6 and they were relatively easy after doing Highers in S5 and knowing what was expected at Higher level in similar subjects.

I think he would have found them much harder to crash in S5 not having seen the step up from NAT5 to Higher yet. But, if your ds has the aptitude for it and is committed that has got to be better than doing a subject he has no interest in.

Ameadowwalk · 28/03/2023 20:37

My DD did a higher in Modern Studies in S5 without having done Nat 5 Modern Studies a couple of years back. She got an A. She had done History at Nat 5. I am trying to remember if she had done geography as well, she might have.

Original poster

KingCatMeowInSpace · 28/03/2023 21:32

WeAllHaveWings · 28/03/2023 17:57

ds crashed Highers in S6 and they were relatively easy after doing Highers in S5 and knowing what was expected at Higher level in similar subjects.

Hadn't thought of it like that - he spoke to teacher today who says he'd cope ok with both the history and modern studies in s5 but she would definitely recommend he didn't do the modern studies till s6 and focus on the history first and see what highers are like. In which case he'd need to pick physics instead from that column.

OP posts:

Piffpaffpoff · 29/03/2023 08:02

My observation on higher Modern (and also Politics) is that if you can write essays well, that’s at least half the battle.

FiftyNotNifty · 29/03/2023 22:18

My DD almost did this..Seems to be totally achievable if you are already coping well with the type of questions/essays done in N5 History. She decided against it as the teacher said the other desirable was to really be up to date and keen on current affairs and DD sadly is not!

prettybird · 30/03/2023 13:03

Ds crashed Higher Modern Studies in S6, alongside AHs in Maths and Physics. He got an A in it and went off to study Politics and International Relations at Aberdeen Uni (having got an unconditional offer).

I do agree with previous posters who've suggested it might actually be easier to do it in S6 when he's used to the standard required for Highers. Ds had already done Geography and English Highers (amongst others) in S5. He says he could have crashed an AH in Modern Studies but wanted to be sure of a good result, plus he had others commitments that year (helping to coach rugby at the school for example), alongside the two AHs he was already doing.

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