Multicourse teaching in Scotland: more is less

Some chemistry teachers in Scotland find themselves teaching multicourse groups, consisting not just of students studying the Higher course (typically ages 16–18), but also students studying for the National 5 chemistry course (typically ages 15–16).

With the examinable content of these courses being largely mutually exclusive, teachers have to spend a lot of time planning lessons for their composite classes, devising activities and strategies to ensure that both National 5 and Higher students can be offered equal levels of teacher support during each lesson often leaves no alternative but to offer extra tutorial sessions for these students during lunchtime and after school.

A survey undertaken by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Education Division Regional Committee in Scotland shows that this may be more common than we previously thought.