The first 2024 Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) course reports were published in September, including photography.
The Higher in photography was taken by 2,755 students in 2024, making it the 20th most popular subject at that level.
Here are six key points to emerge from the Higher photography course report:
1. Photographic terms
Teachers are advised to broaden students’ knowledge and understanding of photographic terms, techniques, styles and genres, helping “ensure that they are prepared for any images or scenarios that may be included in the question paper”; it will also help them perform better in the project element of Higher photography.
2. Exam technique
Exam technique could be improved through more use of timed responses in classes, as well as more chances for students to complete full practice papers. Question prompts in the Higher photography question paper are included in the course-specification document, with a description of how candidates should respond to them.
3. Don’t miss the extra sheet
Schools and colleges should ensure that students know that a supplementary information sheet is issued together with the exam question paper. They should refer to this sheet when answering the questions.
4. Avoid generic responses
Teachers should ensure that students are “prepared for a variety of genres and subject matter” in the exam paper. Some students are providing generic responses to analysis questions - for example, with general definitions of a tripod or a lens that do not relate to the image in question.
“These definitions alone do not enable candidates to access the available marks,” the SQA report warns, adding that the student “must produce a bespoke answer and not one that has been pre-learned”.
5. Too much project help
Concerns were raised over how much help some students received with their projects in 2023-24. The course specification advises that they “should only receive reasonable assistance in completing their project”. Schools and colleges should explicitly teach them how to produce an effective project independently; this could entail a test project before the real thing.
6. Skills first, project second
The SQA photography course report underlines that students “should not start their project before they have been taught the relevant skills to do so”. First, they should explore image-making techniques, styles, genres and creative effects. This will help them choose an “appropriate theme” and to “produce a project with minimal assistance”.
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