How does the Scottish system work

A typical Scottish high school has 6 years ( S1 to S6) people do their Nat 5s in S4 which can range from 6 to 8, but u don’t have to really worry about this as u would have done ur GCSEs and will be going to S5.
In S5 students typically do 5 highers, and aim to get really good marks because Scottish unis don’t really care about advanced highers which u would do in S6.
A way of checking if ur going to be behind is to look at the nat5 course contents for the subjects ur thinking of picking for highers because they usually build upon it.
Also you will be joining a school mid year because students don’t move schools for highers.

A typical Scottish high school has 6 years ( S1 to S6) people do their Nat 5s in S4 which can range from 6 to 8, but u don’t have to really worry about this as u would have done ur GCSEs and will be going to S5.
In S5 students typically do 5 highers, and aim to get really good marks because Scottish unis don’t really care about advanced highers which u would do in S6.
A way of checking if ur going to be behind is to look at the nat5 course contents for the subjects ur thinking of picking for highers because they usually build upon it.
Also you will be joining a school mid year because students don’t move schools for highers.

Hello, hello. Linking my GYG thread not as a shameless plug but because I have a section of the original post explaining the Scottish school system and how it works. Hopefully that helps!
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7556425&p=100422320&page=1

Thank you soo much for that it was indeed very helpful and informative so yh a very useful source for a lost case like me lol. But I have a question regarding advanced highers- since u and the other person who replied to my question have both mentioned, Scottish unis don't rlly look at your advanced highers so I'm trying to understand what's the point of them then and why do people take them? Is it typically only people who are planning to go uni in England who do them- since u mentioned that's what unis in England look at. Also I've heard that if u do well in the AH then u can skip yr 1 of uni so does that mean if u fail u could still go on to do it in uni and you've basically gotten a bit of a headstart to the course in uni?
P.s Sorry ik I'm asking quite alot of questions but I'm just trying to familiarise myself with how it's going to be so I don't look kinda dumb and clueless when I go 😅

Wait also if Scottish unis don't rlly care abt advanced highers then why do people take them what's their point? And if you choose to not do them then what do u do is it straight to work or gap yr ?

Glad you found it helpful! I tend to yap on a bit but I'm happy that you found it worth reading, haha.
There isn't really much point in AHs unless you're going into a course like medicine or vet med in terms of being required to have them. The biggest use of AHs, in my opinion, is the second year entry you can get to some courses if you have them. I was looking at a Quantum Physics degree at St Andrews University and you could skip first year and get right into second year if you had AH Physics and Maths or something. I guess it might also make you look better if you were applying for a competitive course and your AHs were in a relevant area, but I'm not 100% sure about that (having actual experience might do you more good than an AH in that circumstance).
Some universities recommend that you have them depending on the course (e.g. I was looking at a mathematics degree at Uni of Edinburgh I think and they recommended you at AH Maths if you want to do the course) but, at the end of the day, they are still not required. As they are set at first year university level, some of the content you cover in your AH could be covered in one of your first year uni modules which would obviously give you that extra boost/head start into that area. That means that, yes, if you failed an AH but still had strong Highers then you could go to university but failing a subject never looks good so, even if it is an AH and not part of entry reqs, it's something you obviously want to avoid.
For your other question about what you'd do if you didn't take AHs, S6 in Scotland (which is when you'd do AHs) isn't mandatory so you can leave to work, take a gap year or apply to college or university (since you typically sit Highers in S5, you can apply to uni in S5 and get conditional offers).
But you can choose to stay on and do AHs, more Highers or more Nat5s. Some schools offer other courses (e.g. my school has NPAs which are other qualifications at the same level as Nat5s/Highers/etc depending on what level you do except you don't have to sit an exam). From what I know, it's not as rigid as the English schooling system where you do GCSEs and then go to Sixth form to do A-levels and that's it. You're not restricted to doing a qualification at a specific level regardless of what year your in (e.g. S5s are not only restricted to Highers, S6s are not only restricted to AHs) so you can mix and match. That also means if you don't pick a Higher which you need for x uni course you want to do in S5 then you can just do it in S6 instead.
Funny how I reference the fact that I yap on in the beginning and then proceed to yap on, haha. I hope this answers your questions. If you have anything else you want to know/I haven't explained something very well then just say and I'd be happy to help!

Their are 3 main reason people take advanced highers.
1) People applying for unis outside of Scotland need advanced highers
2) It’s highly recommended to take relavant advanced highers for the course you will do at uni as it would make the first year of uni a lot easier.
3) Scottish students wanting to do medicine, vet, or in a related field need to have done advanced highers for Scottish unis.
If you don’t want to take advanced highers you could do more highers or apply to uni in s5( Second last year of highschool) and go to uni depending on ur grades.

Dw I'm a big yapper too lool but my yapping isint as helpful but yh thanks again for that.
I also had another question that kinda popped into my head today right- since rn in England many people are going to many different interviews with different sixth forms I was wondering cos obviously to take A levels subjects there are minimum requirements of the gcse grades needed to take the subject and these minimum grades vary depending on the sixth forms ur applying to.
So I wanted to know is this a thing in Scotland too- where in order to take certain Highers u needed to have taken those subjects for ur nat5 and gotten a minimum grade in order to do the Highers u wanted- and if so then what happens to my gcse grades? Do they translate them into an equivalent or something?
Also a different question- would I be able to just join any school, since as I mentioned here in England u have to be accepted into 6th forms and a big part of that is if u got the grades required for the Alevel subjects but since u don't move schools for highers then there's none of this interview stuff but a minimum grade is still required?
honestly thank you SOO much tho you've been such a great help! And srry for asking soo many questions but tbh It's rlly hard to find any videos that explain it thoroughly or atleast in my situation- like u see so many videos and vlogs from gcse students- like a day in the life of.. but then searching for these types of videos but Scottish ppl doing S5/6 it's like they r non existent so yh thx againn

Typically you have to have gotten an A or a B in the same subject at Nat5 to be allowed to do it at Higher (e.g. as I passed Nat5 Maths with an A I was allowed to go on and do it at Higher). For my school, when choosing subjects for next year we have to get our course choice forms signed by a teacher. Getting them signed is basically that teacher saying 'Yeah, I think you could do this subject at a tricker level'. I'm not sure how other schools do it though. But an A or a B at the level below is the standard requirement to move onto the next level. I'd expect your GCSE grades would just be made into our equivalent to do this (I think it would be 9s and 8s are As, 7s and 6s are Bs, etc, etc, but don't quote me on that).
You're right with the not moving school stuff. We just stay on at the one school until we decide to leave high school or reach the end of it, which is what you would most likely do too. The school you'd go to would most likely just be the local high school/the one you're in the catchment area of unless your parents decided to get you enrolled elsewhere at their choice.
You're welcome! I'm glad to help. The lack of Scottish related high school/exam content is definitely a pet peeve of mine but it's to be expected considering how small the Scottish population is compared to England.