Scotland’s exam body has begun a consultation seeking the views of students and teachers on the Scottish set texts studied in upper secondary for National 5 and Higher English qualifications.
The online consultation by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) - which is open now and will run for eight weeks - marks the first time that students have been given the opportunity to have their say on the Scottish texts studied at these levels.
Teachers and students in S1 to S6 - as well as recent school leavers - are being asked which Scottish texts they would like to keep and which they would like to replace.
They are also being asked which texts they would like to see added to the list.
Once the online survey has concluded, the SQA will conduct focus groups with teachers and learners, and explore in more detail the feedback it has received.
Set texts to be updated in November
The revised list of Scottish set texts will then be confirmed in November, with the first assessments conducted in 2026, by which time it is expected that Scotland will have a new exam body.
The Scottish government announced in 2021 that the SQA would be replaced but reform has been hit by delays. In the Scottish parliament last week, the education secretary Jenny Gilruth said she expected the new qualifications body to be operational by 2025.
On the SQA consultation, Ms Gilruth said feedback from teachers and learners would help to ensure the Scottish set text list “remains relevant and reflects Scotland’s rich culture and heritage”.
Students in upper-secondary school study Scottish texts in addition to other texts that are chosen by their school or college, in order to develop an appreciation of Scotland’s literary heritage.
The Scottish set text list offers a range of prescribed texts across poetry, prose and drama, by writers such as Robin Jenkins, Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead and Robert Burns.
Prescribed element of SQA English courses
Scottish set texts are the only prescribed element of the SQA’s National 5 and Higher English courses.
Drama set texts over the years have included: Tally’s Blood (Ann Marie di Mambro); Bold Girls (Rona Munro); The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil (John McGrath); and The Slab Boys (John Byrne).
Some of the prose texts in the list have been The Strange Case of Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson); Short Stories (Anne Donovan); The Testament of Gideon Mack (James Robertson); and Sunset Song (Lewis Grassic Gibbon).
Poets in the Scottish set text list have included Carol Ann Duffy, Norman MacCaig and Edwin Morgan.
The Scottish set texts consultation for National 5 and Higher English is open now. The learner survey is available here, while the teacher survey can be accessed here. The initial phase of the consultation will close on Monday 6 May.
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