2026 SQA exams - is there a thread?

[YouBelongWithMe]

I can't see a thread so am starting it!

Last year my DS went through a mix of Hs and AH in S6 and now is finishing first year of uni.

It's now the middle child's turn - she's sitting six Highers in S5, and they're all packed in over about thirteen days! She's totally finished by the 11th.

Can't believe they've come round so fast.

@MrsMattSantoscan I ask how many hours a day your DD is studying? If you can’t tell I’m stressing DS isn’t doing enough!

I think - and this is a guestimate a - she’s been doing about 3/4 hours a day over the holidays, split into chunks. Is this enough? I don’t know… she’s my first but she’s predicted As for art, history and Italian, and A/B for Spanish and B/C for maths and English. What I do know is she works way harder than I did in S4 (but somehow I got all As)

I should also say @sociableintrovert123 part of that work includes her art portfolio, which seems to be never ending in the amount of stuff she has to do….Its not enough apparently to just do a poster for the design element, you’ve got to have individual drawings of all its components, alternative layouts, show different letterings and so on

Thanks. My DS is doing the same but I suppose he’s been studying from about October for his prelims and has just carried on so he’s not really ‘cramming’ as such. He studies during the day then has evenings off. Part of me thinks he should be studying in the evening too but I don’t want to push him too much. I can’t remember how long I studied for at his age.

My first year of (possibly) 6 to go - Nat5s here.

DD had quite a coursework heavy term, which hopefully means exams are lighter but she’s come in to the Easter holidays needing a break.

I think the school timetable really needs an overhaul. She then over two weeks off before going back to school in June. For seasoned parents, how much of the higher curriculum do they really get done before the summer break?

Answering as a teacher. I do actively teach in those last three weeks, although it's RUAE and really just hammering home the difference between what passes for analysis at N5 vs the standard at Higher. But it is proper planned H learning, until the second to last day.

My children have had a different experience of those last few weeks though...

You do know it’s no longer SQA?

Another one with a DC doing 5 H and finding H Maths hard after coasting to an A at Nat 5.

I remember the jump between Standard Grades and Highers being huge, I don't think it's that different now? DC finding all their subjects hard and definitely not doing enough studying, but trying to force the issue is counter productive!

We're just trying to be quietly encouraging about focusing in the background.

DD did masses. Some units were completed in their entirety. She had homework from the first day of S5 in June.

Yeah, but has been for years and old habits die hard. Don’t think it’s counterproductive for this thread!
We all know what we’re referring it to…..

Ironically, I mark for them every year. They'll forever be SQA to me.

All that’s changed is the logo and the stationery.

We were told about the maths pass rate statistics at the options pathway evening and it's absolutely shocking how many can't pass N5 maths. The SNP should be bloody ashamed of what they've done to Scottish education. Anyway, rant over, my DD is sitting her N5s starting from the end of this month. Her school have been offering some holiday study support sessions but she didn't want to go in, said she'd prefer to do her own studying at home which to be fair she's been good about doing.

Recruitment for maths teachers is a nightmare. Our school are constantly understaffed. There are too many jobs and not enough to recruit. Anyone with a maths degree and any sense is off making mega bucks in industry.

I have heard chat that it may well end up with maths teachers being timetabled to teach senior classes, with cover teachers and AI resources being responsible for BGE maths input. The situation for high school maths is DIRE.

I was under the vague impression that the BGE up to Nat 5 years required fully qualified teachers but post 16 didn’t?

Can concur that our school struggles with maths teacher recruitment and retention too.

I think apps is the way forward for everyone other than STEM/ engineering and in actual fact more useful for everyday numeracy requirements.

Technically, numeracy, literacy and HWB are the responsibility of all teachers. I think the chat was that BGE would essentially be learning numeracy skills in BGE and only encounter real mathematics at senior phase. It's a disaster, but there are literally not enough teachers.

@YouBelongWithMe Thank you for starting this year's thread and hello to everyone else. I recognise some names from last year.

DD in S5 doing 4 Highers and a non-Higher SCQF6. Thankfully means only 4 exams, but she's still doing coursework for the SCQF6 alongside. Very spaced out this year, starting with Music on 27 April, English on 1 May, History on 14th and finishing with Art & Design on 26th.

DD not really done any revision yet. Spent 3.5 days in school over the holidays, but all but one of those was for coursework. Back to school tomorrow and DD says study leave doesn't start until 27th. Not sure that's right as Spanish, geography, business and engineering are all before then, so will check with school tomorrow.

Does anyone have any good resources or a good tutor recommendation for music Higher? DD is having to do music with an S4 class and I was always afraid that she wouldn't get taught the theory for Higher. She's had one whole lesson on it and teacher refuses to go over it again!

Interesting to hear of difficulties with Maths and English. DD's English classes this year have been spending a lot of time doing exam condition past questions, but noone is teaching the content or going over the questions afterwards, so they're all failing or scrimping through and utterly demoralised. She might do maths in S6, but has left it off her options form and is waiting to see who the teacher is before she decides.

I have one child in S6 who is sitting the grnad total of 1 AvdH. I am invigilating again with the SQA or whatever they call themselves now in a local school and have my first shift on 24th April for the Business exams.

Agree with this - the invigilators handbook is exactly the same as it was last year, same font, same layout, same everything. Except the logo.

The folios we send away this year have flyleafs with SQA 2026 coursework printed on them 🤣 even the organisation themselves haven't fully embraced the change

Exactly. Some Higher courses are really jam packed. My child is in the maths top set for Nat 5 and they started the higher maths syllabus in January this year as they assumed everyone would be going on to higher maths and there’s just so much to cover.

They really are. My daughter started hard into the Higher Maths syllabus on the first day of S5 in June. The homework component has been pretty staggering from the get go. They finished the course three weeks before the Easter break. The other Higher class didn’t finish until the end of term.

My Ds is in S6 this year. He got B's in his prelims so is feeling confident, so I hope he is not disappointed. He only needs 1 B for his university place so it does feel like the pressure is off this year.

For Higher maths last year, ds got a C in the prelim and an A in the higher. I remember being surprised he got a C for the prelim because he usually does well in maths.

Highers here, DS is doing 5. Like others, I’m not sure he’s dong enough - 3/4hrs a day on average but I don’t want to pressurise him or have a fall-out.

He’s not really sure what he wants to do yet, and will do 6th year as he got a D in Nat 5 maths last year. He’s undecided about repeating it to try & get a C, or to do higher Application of Maths.

looks about 3-4 hours just now. It’s 2hrs of online maths group tutoring (mix of identification, past papers and ‘intense’) DD just can’t study maths independently and I’m less than useless!

focus for now is maths and English, and despite a surprising much lower prelim mark seems to have a much better grasp of this - Liz Lochead anyone else 🫠

hoping prelims are reflective of the lack of study or prep straight after Christmas, but efforts are high now. Be glad to have maths out of our lives and trying to drill this in 😂