Preparing teenagers to leave the nest isn’t quite as straightforward as you might think. We offer a host of helpful hints and tips.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

SCOTTISH students are already sharpening their pencils and calming their nerves as exam season gets underway. This year is more exciting than most as the National 4 and 5 qualifications finally kick in.

As part of a wider shake-up of the qualifications structure, changes are planned for Highers too, with new CfE Highers replacing existing Highers with new courses beginning from June.

It’s an ongoing roll-out, as some schools and local authorities will not change over to the new CfE Higher this year but instead continue with existing Highers.

It’s been the subject of much debate but there is guidance out there for pupils and parents.

Educational publisher Leckie and Leckie, for example, aims to get you ready for the changes with its new range of student books, course notes, success guides and practice papers.

The biggest change from Standard Grades to Nationals is the timing – the courses which lead directly to the N5 qualifications only last one year while Standard Grade courses were two years long.

Students begin studying for the qualifications at the beginning of fourth year, although they will often lead on from the courses they were studying beforehand.

The National 5 is the more academically advanced of the qualifications, the equivalent of a credit pass in a Standard Grade while the National 4, which does not involve any formal exams at the end of the course, is roughly the same as a general in a Standard Grade. These courses rely on continuous assessment and only N5 students have formal exams over the next few weeks.

Somehave claimed the qualifications are “too easy” with greater reliance on multiple choice but others applaud the greater emphasis on ‘deeper learning’ – giving a candidate the chance to show how much he or she understands a subject rather than simply use facts, figures and formulae.

There is less emphasis on requiring candidates to commit facts or figures to memory and more on analysing and applying what they have learned on their course.

This fits with wider changes to education in recent years and the new Curriculum for Excellence.