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.

Anyone else had any comments about Advanced H English? DD said first part was ‘fine’ second was ‘awful!’ She’s just had a fire pit with her friends where they’ve burned their coursework!😆
Higher English tomorrow for DD.🤞

That's how I feel about all the H English notes around my house! Wr had a new poet - Dharker - so there was minimal revision material. DS is so fed up with it all now.

H Drama and N5 Admin & IT are both on Tuesday which is not ideal!

Those of my class who came to debrief said it was fine. They'd done two dramas and had good Qs. They all did the poem for TA and thought it was really good.

Higher English today!!! DD seems weirdly giddy/jittery about this one. I told her to stop revising about 5pm and there was lots of energy to dispel - she made a cheesecake and went rock climbing to distract herself! I think she feels the need to do well in this one because she's studied for it off timetable, and wants to prove herself.

Am praying for a good SST poem for my class 🙏

Higher English today too. Seems to be universally hated by DD and her friends and they can't wait to burn their notes too. Good luck to everyone sitting it today.

Nervous about this one today. DC loves English and wants to do well but seems convinced they won’t. So I’m praying for questions that are “good”.

good luck to them all

Good luck to all sitting H English. My ds is fairly relaxed about this one. It’s maths next week he is most worried about.

Just dropped DD off for Higher English too. She's usually confident with English, but convinced she's going to do badly on this one. Good luck to everyone's DC today.

DD messaged to say the RUAE was on climate change and not as bad as expected.

Thanks! I never got an update. 😂

RUAE is good in the house. Other paper has been hellish. New poem for Paterson which is the one they’d covered the least. They only had one text for Critical essay and it didn’t really fit either question. A lot of tears here after a year of very high marks.

Does anyone know what the theme was for set text in paper 2?

DD didn't like the essay question but thought the Men Should Weep one was nice and general.

Which set text @Stressedoutmybox ?

Official word in was that it was ‘pretty good’. Delighted the essay question for film/tv was - "Choose a film or TV drama with an effective opening or climatic scene" and her film was Shawshank redemption.

prose was ‘sorting through’ (studied Liz lochhead) and asked for commonality with relationships which was a blessing.

hope everyone else okay

DD and her boyfriend though higher English was good. DD wasn’t happy with her RUAE but seems to have run out of time.

Also RUAE was a lot of own words questions, and the final question had easy points to compare

Dharker- Bloom was the poem.

DS left after 1hrs 15 mins... oh man!

That’s a shame, new poem and a wonky question is a tough shift! That was my main worry as a lot of the past papers didn’t really fit DDs chosen film and essays. It’s pot luck and it’s frankly rubbish. We discussed this a lot on the 2025 thread but fitting question types over an appreciation and understanding of work is pants!

Don't know the question for that one @Stressedoutmybox . Hope your DS is ok.

Yes she’s wriggled something around the Glass Menagerie and just has to hope that it the structure of her essay will get her through.
The new poem felt inevitable and she’s worked hard at it but it’s still a real kicker. Her prelim was very high so I just hope that she’s managed to transfer some of that knowledge into an unfamiliar and not idea essay topic.

There was a beautiful Q for Glass Menagerie - a vulnerable character. There was also a turning point/turning scene which would have worked grand.

My daughter (and class) had done 'Othello' as their first essay text and the essay Qs couldn't have been better if I'd written them myself. They were buzzing. Second text also had strong essay options.

Found it surprising (and impressive) that all the SST poetry looked to be on the new poems. That's a lot of question-writing. I thought a new one was more likely so made sure my class knew those ones inside out. Paid off, phew!

The RUAE had four Understanding Qs but three of them were 'explain fully' instead of 'explain', which is quite tough. Think it's making up for no 'tone' Q at the end.

Anyone know what the critical essay questions were for prose?

Theme of loss or power or change was one of them.

One about a character and their surroundings or setting I think.

Can't remember the third.

Oh, those are Prose Fiction. No idea for Prose Non-fiction

@YouBelongWithMe thank you! I’ve been tutoring in English and these sound reasonable.