S2
In S2 classes come to Maths in two columns, each with 5 classes set from 1-5 and students are placed based on their S1 attainment and class teacher judgement. Some young people worry that having been in a set 1 or 2 in first year and they are now in a set 2, 3 or 4, that they haven’t done well, this is often not the case; it is due to the difference in how the classes attend maths i.e. there are 90-99 students in a set 1, S1 class – and only 60-66 spaces in a set 1 in S2.
There are 3 main assessments in S2 for sets 1-4 and for set 5 there are several differentiated assessments throughout the year. Attainment in assessments, reviews, quizzes and class teacher judgement is used to place young people on the most appropriate course in S3. Class moves are possible following assessment but are kept to a minimum. Sets 1-4 follow the same curriculum and assessment may be differentiated for set 4, dependent on the year group. For Set 5 both curriculum and assessment are differentiated.
S3
In S3, young people engage with the course most appropriate for them and they are placed in classes which, although they still attend Maths in two columns, are set in a different manner than in S2. They are set in classes 1-10 (the class name does not reflect the set ie 3X2 is not the second set nor is 3Y3 the third set). S2 class teachers use their assessment data and professional judgement to place each young person on the most appropriate course for them. Young people are placed in one of 6 courses in S3. Some placements are not finalised until mid-S3 (usually January) to allow young people every opportunity to show their capabilities. Sets 1-6 follow the same curriculum in S3 from June to January, covering work on two National 5 level Units; Expressions & Formulae and Numeracy, both of which are assessed in S3. Final decisions on placement for the different courses taught in sets 5, 6 and 7 take place mid-S3 and are based on S3 assessment information and class teacher judgement.
By early in the winter term in S3 all young people are placed in the class on the most appropriate course for them and any further movement between classes is very unusual. The curriculum for the different courses is increasingly divergent and differentiated as students start to complete the pre-N3, N4 and N5 courses of S3.
