For teachers
Modern Studies teaching resources: free, current Scottish data
Why it helps
Textbooks date. This does not.
Current figures
Every page shows when it was last updated and when its figures were checked. Poverty, pay, crime and health figures are the latest official releases.
Every figure sourced
Each number links to the official source it came from, so pupils can practise judging reliability on real evidence.
Built for the exam
Course guides, model answers and source questions in the style of the National 5 and Higher papers, using real Scottish data.
Course map
What fits each part of the course
Pages on this site by area of study
| Area of study | Pages |
|---|---|
| Democracy in Scotland and the UK | Who is my MSPAll 129 MSPs and how they votedWho decides what: Holyrood, Westminster or councilHow to contact an MP or MSPBest council in Scotland, all 32 ranked |
| Social issues: social inequality | Poverty in ScotlandCauses of povertyUK poverty line in poundsIn work povertyScottish Child PaymentMinimum wage and Real Living WageLife expectancy in GlasgowDrug deaths and deprivationEvery council area compared |
| Social issues: crime and the law | Crime rate in GlasgowShoplifting in ScotlandUnemployment in Scotland |
Exam preparation
Papers, guides and practice
- National 5 past papers to downloadEvery paper and its marking instructions, 2022 to 2026, one tap each on a phone.
- Higher past papers and practice questionsWhere to find the papers, the question types and their marks, and three practice source questions.
- National 5 Modern Studies guideHow the course is assessed, revision notes and model answers.
- Higher Modern Studies guideThe essays, the source skills and current evidence for each section.
- Advanced Higher Modern StudiesThe dissertation, research methods and where to find good data.
- Poverty in Scotland quizSix questions on real figures. A quick starter: most classes get them wrong.
- Plain English glossaryEvery technical term on the site in ordinary words.
- Charts to downloadCharts and figures you can drop into slides, with the source attached.
Ideas for class
Ways teachers use it
- Your own area. Pupils put in the school postcode and compare child poverty, pay and life expectancy with the rest of Scotland.
- Source skills. The practice questions use real tables, so pupils can check their conclusions against the official source afterwards.
- Who is responsible. The who decides page shows which parliament or council controls each policy, a clear way into democracy questions.
- Assignment research. Every figure has its source linked, which suits the research and evaluation the assignment and dissertation need.
Trust
Balance, accuracy and your pupils
Who is behind it. Me, Graeme. I struggled at school, worked hard to turn things around afterwards, and built this as my way of giving back, so complicated subjects are easy to follow. Read why I built it.
Balance. Scotland Counted is independent and has no party, campaign or funder behind it. Pages keep official figures separate from interpretation, and where responsibility is described it is about which government holds the power, not which party deserves blame. Some investigations cover sensitive subjects such as sexual crime and drug deaths, so please read a page before sharing it with a class.
Accuracy. Figures come from official sources such as the Scottish Government, National Records of Scotland, the ONS and Qualifications Scotland. Mistakes are fixed and logged publicly on the corrections page, and the methods page explains how every figure was worked out.
Pupils. There are no accounts, no sign up and no personal details needed to use anything on the site. Visits are measured with Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity; the privacy page explains exactly what they record.
Past papers and marking instructions © Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA), reproduced in support of its qualifications on a non commercial basis.
Tell me what would help your classes
A topic you need data for, a mistake, or an idea for a resource. I read everything sent to graeme@strathmarkconsulting.com.
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