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00:00Hello, my name's Amber Allitt, and I'm a journalist specialising in education.
00:04Just like their GCSE-taking counterparts from across the UK, Scottish pupils are now studying
00:10towards their English National 5 qualification, and they'll likely be hitting the books
00:14already.
00:15The SQA gives teachers a lot of freedom around which books their class will study, but they
00:20do have to pick at least one work by a Scottish writer from a set list.
00:25Here are three of the most unique texts Scottish students might study.
00:31In the drama section is Tally's Blood by Anne-Marie de Mambro, a play that explores the lives
00:36of Italian immigrants in Scotland during the Second World War.
00:39Specifically, it focuses on a family that run a café in Glasgow.
00:44Tally's Blood is a deep dive into themes of nationalism, as the family find themselves
00:48being targeted for their heritage once Italy joins the war, while some members also have
00:53to wrestle with their own biases and prejudices against Scots.
00:58In the prose section is The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson.
01:02This is a fairly new novel published in 2006, and tells the story of a Church of Scotland
01:07minister who doubts the existence of God.
01:11As he wrestles with his faith and his sense of purpose, he receives an unexpected visitor
01:15after a near-death experience.
01:18For students who end up studying Scottish poetry, they will focus on six poems by a
01:22single poet.
01:24One of these is former poet laureate Carole Ann Duffy.
01:27Her works are known for tackling themes like gender and the female experience, with some
01:32of her poems on the reading list including Mrs Tilch's Class and The Way My Mother Speaks.