Wars of Independence exam papers

Date published: 09/05/2025

The 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option attracted widespread criticism, many schools abandoning that option as a result.

Was the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option set by a practising teacher, i.e., someone who currently teaches the option?

Several markers were sacked following negative comments they made of the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option on social media.

Who sanctioned the sacking of those markers who criticised the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option on social media?

A teacher who made negative comments anonymously of the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option on the Scottish History Teachers Forum was tracked downed by the SQA and his school principal instructed to discipline him.

Who sanctioned the decision to track down the teacher who made negative comments anonymously of the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option and instructed his school principal to discipline him?

Statistics in the SQA Higher History Review show that since 2023 there has been a 6% fall in the number of candidates presented for the examination of the Wars of Independence option, and since 2019 a fall of 11%. 

What efforts did the SQA’s Head of Standards make to explain the 6% fall since 2023 and the 11% fall since 2019, e.g. by asking teachers in those schools which have switched from the Wars of Independence option to the Migration and Empire option since 2019 and more recently since 2023?

The SQA Higher History Review states that in May 2023 a national survey of teachers and lecturers was held, as a result of which the course specification for Higher History was updated to clarify the description of content for each of the key issues in the options of the Scottish history [page 11]. 

Q1  How were teachers and lecturers informed of any such survey and how many responded?

Q2  Were amendments made to the course descriptors of all five options, or only the Wars of Independence option?

The SQA Higher History Review claims that Marking Instructions are ‘robust and fit for purpose’?

Q1 Why are errors in the Marking Instructions for the examination of the Wars of Independence exam papers of 2023 (p05) and 2024 (p07) still ‘live’ on the following SQA websites, despite the Qualifications Manager being alerted to these errors on more than one occasion?

https://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/papers/instructions/2023/mi_NH_History_Scottish-History_2023.pdf

https://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/papers/instructions/2024/mi_NH_History_Scottish-History_2024.pdf

Q2  Why has an error which appears in the Marking Instructions for the Specimen Paper on the War of Independence (p07) still not been corrected?

https://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/HigherSQPHistoryScottish.pdf

The 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option attracted widespread criticism, many schools abandoning that option as a result.

Was the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option set by a practising teacher, i.e., someone who currently teaches the option?

Yes, the paper was set by a practising teacher at the time.

Several markers were sacked following negative comments they made of the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option on social media.

Who sanctioned the sacking of those markers who criticised the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option on social media?

SQA has a procedure in place to ensure any breach of an appointee contract is treated fairly and that sanctions, where applicable, are consistently applied. Various people are involved in the investigation and decision-making process.  No individual authorises the withdrawal of appointee contracts. If a breach of the appointee terms and conditions occurs, there is a procedure in place, involving various people, to ensure a fair and consistent approach is taken to manage this. 

A teacher who made negative comments anonymously of the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option on the Scottish History Teachers Forum was tracked downed by the SQA and his school principal instructed to discipline him.

Who sanctioned the decision to track down the teacher who made negative comments anonymously of the 2023 examination paper of the Wars of Independence option and instructed his school principal to discipline him?

A teacher made negative comments that included criticising the Higher History senior marking team during the Standardisation event of the 2023 Higher History examinations. This caused significant distress and uneasiness amongst the team and amongst SQA qualifications staff and was brought to the attention of the appropriate Head of Service, who contacted the teacher’s school to explain what had occurred. There was no request for disciplinary action or anything similar.

Statistics in the SQA Higher History Review show that since 2023 there has been a 6% fall in the number of candidates presented for the examination of the Wars of Independence option, and since 2019 a fall of 11%. 

What efforts did the SQA’s Head of Standards make to explain the 6% fall since 2023 and the 11% fall since 2019, e.g. by asking teachers in those schools which have switched from the Wars of Independence option to the Migration and Empire option since 2019 and more recently since 2023?

This was outside the scope of the review, which focused on the 2024 marking standard.

The SQA Higher History Review states that in May 2023 a national survey of teachers and lecturers was held, as a result of which the course specification for Higher History was updated to clarify the description of content for each of the key issues in the options of the Scottish history [page 11]. 

Q1  How were teachers and lecturers informed of any such survey and how many responded?

Unfortunately, due to staffing absence, we have been unable to obtain the information requested at this time. We apologise for this. However, we will get the information to you as soon as we are able to obtain it.

Q2  Were amendments made to the course descriptors of all five options, or only the Wars of Independence option?

The purpose of the amendments was to balance the course descriptors across the topics. Therefore some were amended while others were not in order to ensure there were four bullet points for every key issue.

The SQA Higher History Review claims that Marking Instructions are ‘robust and fit for purpose’?

Q1 Why are errors in the Marking Instructions for the examination of the Wars of Independence exam papers of 2023 (p05) and 2024 (p07) still ‘live’ on the following SQA websites, despite the Qualifications Manager being alerted to these errors on more than one occasion?

https://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/papers/instructions/2023/mi_NH_History_Scottish-History_2023.pdf

https://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/papers/instructions/2024/mi_NH_History_Scottish-History_2024.pdf

These documents reflect the actual question papers and marking instructions that were used in 2023 and 2024. A notice is due to be added which will highlight the inaccuracies.

Q2  Why has an error which appears in the Marking Instructions for the Specimen Paper on the War of Independence (p07) still not been corrected?

https://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/HigherSQPHistoryScottish.pdf

The Specimen Question Paper and corresponding Marking Instructions have been updated and were published on 16 January 2025.