Minimum number of subjects studies in 5th yr

[Mum2Fergus]

.Gov website states minimum of 5 subjects however DS is adamant there are kids at his school studying only 2-3 subjects…I’ve emailed school for confirmation but they’re not the quickest! Anyone have knowledge or experience of this?

Why does it matter what other children are doing?

Because I want to know if studying less than 5 subjects is doable.

Well you need to have 5 subjects including maths and english in order to be employable or get onto pretty much any further qualifications course. There probably are SEN kids who have no prospect of ever becoming employable, or whose general developmental delays meant that they won't be ready to tackle more subjects until they are a bit older. Is your DS wanting to do fewer subjects himself?

It has been a wee while since my kids were in 5th year but I don’t think it would need to 5 highers (it could be). You could do extra standard grades or those foundation apprenticeship things. I do think they want pupils to have a full timetable but there may be a bit of wiggle room depending on circumstances.

My DS had to drop higher PE due to an injury. He didn’t want to do another higher and the school were fully supportive of that. He achieved 5As & 2Bs at N5, so is perfectly capable and most definitely employable! He says there are quite a few pupils on a reduced timetable for a variety of reasons. He plans to go to uni after school and will do more higher PE in 6th year.

This is a very helpful reply, thank you, and similar circumstances.

From my understanding, in 5th year you do need to do a full timetable (unlike 6th year where you can have free/study periods). And the timetable is built around studying five subjects. However those five subjects do not have to be five highers. DD did 5 highers, her friend did 4 highers and a Nat 5. Another friend did 3 highers a Nat5 and a Level5 course.

If its to do with injury, and he can't complete higher PE, the school will make him do something else in those periods, its unlikely he would be able to just sit in the library, or leave the school grounds for instance. He may be able to volunteer and help in another class for instance, My DD is doing that in 6th year.

At my daughter’s school, the vast majority are doing 5 highers in 5th year.

Some are doing 3 or 4 highers and perhaps resitting a Nat 5 (commonly Maths).

A friend of hers is doing 6 highers but that is only sanctioned if they are very capable and means they miss out on the non qualification subjects such as PSD or games or study periods. They often allow this if one of the subjects is their native language (French/German/Spanish/Mardarin etc) and an easier one to tag alongside the standard 5 highers.

I think most schools would be open to discussion depending on an individual child’s circumstances. Or at least they should be!

At our school S5 pupils have to have a subject out of every column. That can be Highers, Nat 4 or 5 or something else but there are no “free” or study periods allowed in S5.
If someone had to drop a subject for some reason they would have to either take up something else or continue to sit in on that subject and do work for one of their other subjects

The less academic children might be studying a couple of nat 5 subjects but may also be attending college some of the time for vocational subjects. There are a range of opportunities nowadays for children which are wider than before. Surely that's a good thing if it keeps children learning? And it is expected that every child has a full timetable. Reduced timetables are available for some but not the norm.

Most schools will insist on a full timetable for S5. But it does not need to be 5 highers.

Please stop comparing your child’s curriculum to others. We have many in highly specialised timetables with work experience, NPAs, foundation apprenticeships etc all factored in. You don’t know the situation of the pupils your child is alleging are doing less than 5 subjects. They may have time with inclusion support too. A full timetable is all that is required. We’ve come out of the dark ages and not all pupils will have to do 5 subjects

Schools are judged on how many pupils get 5 qualifications in S5 so they need the very vast majority to sit 5 subjects. This doesn't have to be at the same level

My daughter did 4 highers but added a level music to her timetable. My son dropped one higher as his dad died 8 weeks before the exams do he only sat 4. Still got into uni based on these highers though he did do 2 ADvanced highers in 6th form

There will be exceptional circumstances and each school will have their own polices and what others have done may not be how your school will approach it due to available resources/size of school/individual pupils needs etc. Best to discuss with the school what is the best solution for your dc's own circumstances at their own school.

You don’t need higher maths and English to be employable, or for university (subject dependent).

I know a few children doing less than five subjects. It would be incorrect to say those studying two or three subjects are only studying that though. They will be getting sessions on things such as employability, life skills, and extra supported sessions towards their subjects. They may also have some ‘downtime’ sessions to recharge/regulate. These children have all been under support for learning since S1, it is not something other children can opt in to.

There will be some ASN pupils who don’t but these bespoke timetables are not an option for other pupils so won’t be mentioned.

I also know some S5 pupils who only attend school a few sessions per week. They are unlikely to even cross paths with most pupils.

My son is doing 4 subjects, but this includes 1 higher, two national 5s and one level 6 which has no exam.

If he wants to, he can do more highers next year.

To the previous poster, he is definitely employable, what a short sighted observation!

I think if your son wants he can do 5 subjects but can include things like criminology ( no exam) etc as well as highers or National 5s. Loads of children do their highers over 2 years and most universities in Scotland are happy with this.

( not for heavily subscribed subjects )

They might only be doing 2 or 3 one year highers but their timetable will be full of other things. Maybe Nat5s or a 2 year Higher or a college course. Maybe even some wider achievement subjects like beekeeping or barista.

Those who want to go to university need to check very carefully that the courses they’re interested in do not require 5 highers in one sitting, many do.
Dropping to 4 would automatically rule you out of eligibility regardless of grades

For some competitive courses yes, but not most eg four is fine for biological sciences at Edinburgh. If you are widening access you can even get into medicine with just four Highers at S5 in Aberdeen. I think some very rural schools struggle to offer five. Definitely check before dropping a Higher though.

And there are barely any courses which need English and maths at higher, with the expecting perhaps of teaching. Not many do higher English at my child’s school because of the terrible design of the course. It has a reputation of being a dire higher that you should only take if you really need to.

Fucking hell.

My DD did 4 Highers in S5, finished school at the end of S5 and is now studying English at Aberdeen having received offers from Edinburgh, Stirling and Dundee as well. No issues at all with taking 4 unless you want to study a competitive subject at a highly ranked university.