Knightswood Secondary School

Coursing

We course pupils ambitiously, based on the evidence we have gathered in their Write First Time jotters, standard tests and teacher judgement.

If your child does not sit National 5 in S4, they can still progress to this later in their school career – they may just need more time to develop the necessary skills.

Commonality

Regardless of level, the Nationals all have certain core elements in common.  We try to incorporate the study of literature into every level to ease progression, and at each level, your child would be required to pass the following internal assessments:

• Reading
• Listening
• Writing
• Talking

At National 3 level, this would be all that was required. 

At National 4, your child would also have to complete an Added Value Unit where they compare the content and techniques used in two texts.

At National 5, your child would have to submit a Writing Folio containing two pieces of work, and they will have to sit an external exam.

National 5 External Assessment

Folio

The folio is worth 30% of the grade and will contain two pieces of writing, planned and produced by your child.  As well as working on these in class, your child may need to work on these at home and they must ensure that these pieces reflect their best work and, importantly, are submitted on time. One piece of writing will be broadly creative, and the other will be broadly discursive. Neither piece should exceed the word count of 1,000 words.

Exam

In the exam, you child will be required to complete:

1. A Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation paper (Close Reading) which will be worth 30% of their grade.
2. A Critical Reading paper, in which they will need to write one Critical Essay, and complete a number of questions on a Scottish Set Text.  These elements are worth 20 marks each and will make up the final 40% of your child’s overall grade.

Literature

For the Critical Essay your child may study poetry, prose or drama.  Commonly taught texts are dramas such as ‘Macbeth’, ‘The Tempest’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’; prose such as ‘The Ballad of the Sad Café’, ‘Lord of the Flies’, ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘Of Mice and Men’, ‘Laidlaw’;  and/or various poems, including the poetry of Sylvia Plath, Seamus Heaney, Wilfred Owen, Ted Hughes, and more.

For the Set Text we choose from a range of Scottish writers and texts approved by the SQA.  Commonly taught texts are ‘Bold Girls’; ‘Kidnapped’; ‘Sailmaker’; the poetry of Edwin Morgan, Carol Ann Duffy or Jackie Kay .