National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher prelims: when they are, whether they count and how to revise

Each card is today's short timed prelim for that course: 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks, marked when you finish.

When are prelims?

Each school picks its own prelim dates, so check your school calendar. Most hold them in the winter, between December and February, which leaves time to act on the results before the exams. Some schools run a second, smaller round for particular subjects.

The real dates are fixed. The 2027 exam timetable runs from Monday 26 April to Wednesday 2 June 2027, with Thursday 3 June kept as a contingency day. These are the dates for the main maths, science and computing courses.

Advanced Higher Mathematics of Mechanics is on Thursday 27 May and Advanced Higher Statistics on Wednesday 2 June. Results come out in early August: in 2026 it was Tuesday 4 August.

Do prelims count?

Not directly. Your grade comes from the final exam plus any coursework, such as an assignment or project. But prelims feed into three things that do matter:

• Your estimate. Your school sends Qualifications Scotland an estimated grade for each course, and prelim results are often a large part of the evidence behind it.
• Exceptional circumstances. If you miss an exam, or something like illness or a bereavement affects you on the day, your school can ask for your case to be considered. It must send academic evidence produced before the exam, and prelims or mock exams are the first example listed. Your grade is then based on that evidence and may not match your estimate.
• Your level. Prelims often help decide whether you sit a course at National 5 or Higher, so talk to your teacher if you are on the edge.

So sit every prelim as if it were the real thing. If anything is ever needed in place of an exam, a prelim done properly is the best evidence you can have. After results, the free appeals service is different: a senior marker reviews the marking of your exam, and your grade can go up, down or stay the same.

Are prelims harder than the real exam?

The questions usually aren't, but the timing is. You sit a prelim before you have finished the course or revised it all, so it feels harder. Two things are worth knowing for 2027:

• Some exams have changed. Qualifications Scotland says the 2027 timetable reflects shorter exams and fewer papers in some subjects. If your prelim uses an older past paper, it may be longer than the exam you will sit. Check your course page for what has changed.
• Your teacher sets the boundaries. Real exams start from notional boundaries of 50% for a C, 70% for an A and 85% for an upper A, then move them if a paper turned out easier or harder than intended. Your school may grade a prelim against the same starting points.

Reading your prelim result

National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher are graded A to D. A D means 40 to 49%, and below 40% is No Award. Read the percentage, not just the letter. A prelim score of 47% is 3 percentage points short of a notional C, which on most papers is one or two questions done fully instead of half done.

Then go through every lost mark and sort it into one of three piles: didn't know it, knew it but slipped, or ran out of time. Relearn the first pile, keep a written list of the second, and fix the third with timed practice.

How to revise for prelims

1. Find out what is in. Ask which topics each prelim covers. If nobody says, assume everything taught so far.
2. Use past papers and marking instructions. They are free on the past papers page. Marking instructions show exactly what earns each mark.
3. Practise with what you'll be given. Know the formula list, relationships sheet or data booklet for your course before the day.
4. Test yourself, don't reread. Cover your notes, write what you remember, then check.
5. Time yourself. Full papers at weekends, short timed papers on weekday evenings.

Use a daily paper as a short timed prelim

A new paper appears every day for each course we cover. Maths: National 4, National 5, Higher Algebra and Functions and Calculus, Higher Applications of Maths, Advanced Higher Maths and Advanced Higher Mechanics. Physics: National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. Chemistry: National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. Biology: National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. Computing Science: National 5 and Higher.

1. Clear the desk and keep only what the exam allows, including your formula list or data booklet.
2. Start the timer and don't pause it.
3. Mark the paper, then read the mark scheme for every part where you dropped marks.
4. Sort each lost mark into a pile, and sit tomorrow's paper the same way.

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Scotland · Advanced HigherAdvanced Higher Maths: 2027 Exam Guide and PracticeAdvanced Higher Maths explained: the 2027 exam date, both papers, the formulae list, 2026 grade boundaries, the topics and worked practice questions.