In S4, the majority of pupils are expected to study 7 subjects:

• English (4 periods)

• Maths (5 periods)

• 4 additional subject options (4 periods)

• 1 Wider Achievement option (2-5 periods)

Pupils are also allocated 3 periods of core curriculum time. This includes PSE and core PE.

The Wider Achievement courses all take place on Friday mornings, either in-school or off-site at Dundee & Angus College in Arbroath. 

The in-school options for this will include a range of NQs, NPAs and SQA Awards, each timetabled for 2 periods while the Dundee and Angus College options will result in pupils being out of school for the first 5 periods of the day, missing class.

In addition to English and Maths, pupils should study an additional four in-school subjects from the list below.
All courses are National 5 unless stated.

Business, Computing and Enterprise:
Admin & IT, Business & IT NPA Level 5, Retailing (National 5 Skills for Work).

Expressive Arts:
Art & Design, Drama, Music, Music Technology, Photography (NPA Level 5), Jewellery: Basic Techniques (NPA Level 5).

Health and Leisure:
Physical Education: Strand 1, Physical Education: Strand 2, Practical Cookery.
* See slides 3 and 4 of the N5 PE presentation for details on activities within each strand.

Modern Languages:
French, Spanish.

Science:
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Science & Health (NPA Level 4), Applied Science with Forensics (NPA Level 5), Energy (National 5 Skills for Work).

Social Subjects:
Geography, History, Modern Studies, People and Society (National 4), Travel and Tourism (National 5 Skills for Work).

Technical and Outdoor Learning:
Beekeeping (NPA Level 5), Design & Manufacture, Graphic Communication, Practical Woodworking*. Practical Metalworking**.
*Recommendation for pupils interested in Woodworking & Metalworking is that they choose Woodworking in S4 followed by Metalworking in S5.
**Priority will be given to S5 pupils who have completed Woodworking in S4.

Equity and Life skills:
Glam Candy: Makeup Skills (NPA Level 5), Barista Skills & Customer Services (NPA Level 5), Achieve Group (SCQF Levels 3/4/5).

External Provider:
Construction (Level 5 FA).

Further details on all the above in-school courses are given in the Senior Phase Subject Guide at the bottom of the page.

In-School (2 periods per week, timetabled for period 3 and 4 on Fridays):

National 5 French.
Subject to agreement with Faculty Head of Modern Languages due to the reduced time allocation which won't be suitable for all learners.

National 5 Music.
Subject to agreement with Faculty Head of Expressive Arts due to the reduced time allocation which won't be suitable for all learners.

National 5 Geography.
Subject to agreement with Faculty Head of Social Subjects due to the reduced time allocation which won't be suitable for all learners.

NPA Level 5 Photography.
Subject to agreement with Faculty Head of Expressive Arts due to the reduced time allocation which won't be suitable for all learners.

For pupils who are not interested in either the courses above or D&A college, there will be a range of other options available for the 2-period wider achievement block in school. These depend on staffing availability once  demand for standard 4 period courses has been established. Pupils will be given a separate choice form for this later in the session. Examples of courses run previously include Bike Maintenance (Level 4 Award), Creative & Digital Media (Level 4 NPA), PC Passport (Level 5 NPA), Religion Belief & Values (Level 4-6 Award), Mental Health (Level 5 Award).  

Dundee and Angus College (periods 1 to 5 off-site):
All D&A courses run on Friday mornings from 9am-1pm. A bus is organised by the school for this. Please note that by attending D&A college on Friday mornings, pupils will miss 3 periods of in-school classes which they will be responsible for catching up with in their own time.
A list of courses on offer is given below:

Building Services and the Built Environment
Construction Engineering Level 5 NPA.

Children and Young People:
SfW Childcare National 4, SfW Childcare National 5.

Computing and Creative Media:
Web Design Level 5 NPA, Cybersecurity Level 5 NPA.

Construction:
Construction Crafts and Technician Level 4 NPA, Construction Skills Level 5 NPA. 

Engineering:
Automotive Skills Level 4 FA, SfW Engineering Skills National 5.

Hair and Beauty:
VTCT Extended Award in Hair and Beauty Skills Level 1 (equivalent to scqf level 4), VTCT Extended Award in Hair and Beauty Skills Level 2 (equivalent to scqf level 5), D&A Certificate in Barbering (equivalent to scqf level 5).

Health and Social Care:
SfW Health Sector National 5.

Hospitality and Professional Cookery:
Professional Cookery Level 4 NPA, Hospitality Level 5 FA.

Animals, Land and Environment:
Introduction to Horticulture, Agriculture and Estates Level 4, Investigation of Modern Agriculture Level 5 NPA, Animal Care Level 5 NPA, Horticulture Level 5 NPA.

Social Sciences:
Criminology Level 5 NPA, Psychology Level 5 NPA.

Sport and Fitness:
SfW Sport and Fitness NCFE 1 (equivalent to scqf level 5).

Further details on all the above college courses are given in the D&A College Subject Guide at the bottom of the page.

S3 into S4 (17th Feb - 28th Feb)

• PSE input on course choice.

• Pupils issued a provisional choice form for completion.

• 1:1 Guidance appointments to discuss choices where required.

• Choices finalised and sent to parents/carers for confirmation.

Once forms are handed in the following steps take place:

• Numbers checked for viability (staffing, class sizes etc)

- pupils notified if a choice isn’t running and asked to choose another option

• Column Structure created to maximise choice satisfaction

- pupils notified if choices aren’t satisfied and asked to choose another option

• Timetable produced

• No news is good news!
  - pupils are only informed if there is an issue with any of their choices

There are a number of staff involved in the choice process. The list below gives an overview of the key staff involved in the choice process along with some of the supports that are available.

Classroom Teachers / Faculty Heads
-  Experts in their curricular area
- Know pupil strengths and weaknesses in curricular area
- Know likelihood of success / progression 

PT ASL (Mrs Hamilton)
- Available to support pupils who attend ASL and who would benefit from a flexible curriculum

PT Guidance
- Available for 1:1 meetings with pupils and parents
- Overview of pupil strengths / weaknesses / ambitions
-  Link between Faculties, SLT and Home

Careers Advisor (Karen Youngson, SDS)
- Wide knowledge of post-school options (college, university, apprenticeships, work)
- Available for 1:1 meetings with pupils and parents
- Appointments available through PT Guidance

DHT Curriculum (Mr Christie)
- Responsibility for curriculum offer
- Responsibility for timetable