National 5 Environmental Science

Course Specification (03/06/2026)

Explains the structure of the course, including its purpose and aims and information on the skills, knowledge and understanding that will be developed.

Changes have been made to this course following feedback from educators and learners:


Reduced the marks for the question paper from 100 to 90 marks
Reduced the duration of the question paper from 2 hours 30 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes
Reduced the scaled mark for the assignment from 25 to 23 marks


We’ve amended the question paper details in the course specification. There's no change to teaching and learning. Please update your assessments, for example prelims, to reflect the changes to the question paper.
 

Session 2026-27 onwards

Session 2025-26

Past Papers and Marking Instructions

Access all past papers by subject/level


Specimen question paper

Illustrates the standard, structure and requirements of the question papers candidates will sit (includes marking instructions).

Coursework (03/06/2026)

This section provides information on marking instructions and/or the coursework assessment task(s). It includes information that centres need to administer coursework and must be read in conjunction with the course specification.

Session 2026-27 onwards

Session 2025-26

Guidance on conditions of assessment

 

Understanding Standards (22/06/2026)

Examples of candidate evidence with commentaries

Audio Presentation

Changes to Understanding Standards materials

Please note: Understanding Standards materials are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain up to date.

Course reports (30/10/2025)

Provides information on the performance of candidates - which is useful to teachers, lecturers and assessors in their preparation of candidates for future assessment.

Course Reports

Ushare open learning resources