2025 SQA Exams

[Issy422]

With SQA exams starting tomorrow, is it time for a general exam thread?

It's just DD for me, doing Nat 5s. My first 'anxious parent for formal exams' experience. Starts with Music on Monday and ends with Art & Design on 26th, so we've exams throughout. Study leave not started here so first exam is on first day of study leave. She's over revision already so going to be a long 5 weeks.

It is still quite common for Scottish pupils to do Higher English though, and specialise more at the Advanced Higher level.

Business Management isn't really essay based at Nat 5/Higher, other than perhaps the Assignment.

Yes but Scottish universities (and, of course, English universities) look to attract applicants from England and the way A levels work means you wouldn’t ask for English beyond GCSE or Nat 5 level unless directly relevant.

This is the Scottish system though, it's distinct from the English system.
I don't actually think anyone should be forced to take H English, but I can see why many do, while still being able to pursue their other required subjects.

It is the Scottish system that feeds into a university system that is desperate to recruit fee-paying students from England. They cannot ask for specific subjects from Scottish students that they do not require from English ones. So while schools may encourage students to take Higher English, universities don’t require it for the vast majority of courses.

They can ask for different requirements at H/Adv. H than at A level, because they're different qualifications.

Why do you think Scottish curriculum students would need a higher level of English subject knowledge than A level students in order to study the same subject?

Scottish pupils have more opportunity to study English for longer, and for most pupils that's a good thing. That's said, don't English schools do two separate English GCSEs (Language and Literature), whereas Scottish schools only do a combined English Nat5?

You are still missing the point about Highers - it is irrelevant whether they can study it to a higher level without dropping other more relevant subjects. What matters to universities is is it needed for the course and it cannot be needed if GCSE is sufficient for most students.

We didn’t insist our dyslexic son did higher English. They want to do computer science which is very competitive, 5As, preferably in S5. They will stand a v good chance of 5As in academic STEM subjects but an A English would be less nailed on. It really hampers the child’s chances of getting onto courses like this when higher English is insisted on.

I'm not 'missing' the point, I'm offering an alternative perspective.
Scottish Highers are over 1 year and less work than A levels, so it's reasonable that there are different requirements. Having Higher English has always been useful to me, despite doing a science degree and PhD. I appreciate that there are other subjects which give similar overall value, such as History or Economics or some other essay based subject, but for a lot of folk English is useful to have.

Still missing the point.

I'm aware of the point you're attempting to make. Let's leave it there, this isn't useful for anyone.

And your point is Universities should require a higher level of English qualification from students studying the Scottish curriculum than from students studying A levels just because it is easier for them to study it for longer? Fortunately for those who don’t want to study higher English, most universities do not agree.

The requirements will never be the same from two completely different systems, that's the point. H English isn't required for a lot of courses, but it's never a disadvantage to have a pass at H English, alongside other required subjects, especially if writing essays will be part of the chosen University course. Clearly some students will struggle and/or hate it, and shouldn't be forced to study it if they really won't need it in the future.

Hope everybody has the results they hoped for x

Good luck to everyone still waiting and hope it's the results they needed for those who already know.

I can see that many of your DC got what they needed, on the exam results thread, so huge well done to everyone.

DD got 4As (Apps, Art & Design, D&M and English), 3Bs (History, Music and Modern) and a C in Maths. She's pleased with Art and English and disappointed with History.

Maths she's simultaneously disappointed that she didn't scrape a B and relieved that she passed. Interestingly, she had her S3 maths teacher covering two of her lessons in June and he was shocked that she isn't doing Higher and doubly shocked to hear how much she struggled last year when she was one of his best students. She's considering retaking it, but I think she's best just focusing on her Highers now.

Overall she considers her results to be "ok". Tried telling her these are really good results and I'm very proud of her. Loving the teacher coming on to the exam results thread to point out that the results on that thread are not the norm.

Well done to your DD @Issy422. Those are great results. It does show what a difference having a bad teacher can make in Maths especially. Hopefully she can do the Highers she wants this year.