Which books will Nationals English pupils read 2025? The Scottish texts teachers can choose - as list updated

• Scottish English teachers mostly get to choose their own books for their National 5 pupils
• But there is a set list of Scottish texts – of which they must choose one to teach
• This list has undergone some big changes since the last academic year

Many familiar classics have stuck around on despite recent changes to Scotland's Nationals English reading list, but this year’s pupils will see some new additions too.

Schoolchildren across Scotland are currently in the final days of their summer holidays, with the new 2025/26 school year beginning within the next week or two in most parts of the country. This will mean big changes for many young learners, including starting at a new primary or secondary school, or beginning to work towards important qualifications like their ‘Nationals’ – or National 5s.

Similarly to their counterparts across the UK, most pupils studying towards these qualifications have a few set subjects they’ll probably have to take – namely English and maths. As parents might expect, the English National involves a fair amount of reading. Teachers in Scotland generally have the freedom to choose most of what their students will read, but they do have to choose at least one Scottish book, play, or poetry collection from an official set list.

This list was recently switched up too, with some texts removed, and other new ones added. The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said that the changes came after multiple rounds of consultations with teachers, learners, experts and focus groups, and its English head Robert Quinn said the feedback they got was clear. “Teachers and lecturers wanted to retain the most popular texts, but they also wanted a list that is diverse, and relevant for learners.

Many of the old classics have stuck around on Scotland's reading list, but there have been some new additions too | (Image: National World/Getty Images/Adobe Stock)

“They wanted us to include more writers of colour, more female writers, more LGBTQ+ writers, and writers from a variety of backgrounds,” he continued. “From learners we heard them say they wanted to see more modern and diverse texts that had challenging themes and strong emotional content included in the revised list.”

This year’s Nationals candidates will be the first to learn from the new list, so the books they have to read may look a little different from even other students who have recently completed the course. Here is the list they’ll be reading from in the upcoming, 2025 school year:

Drama

• Yellow Moon, by David Greig
• Sailmaker, by Alan Spence
• Tally’s Blood, by Ann Marie di Mambro

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Prose

• Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Duck Feet (*specifically Part Wan First Year), by Ely Percy - written in Scots
• A collection of short stories, by Anne Donovan (including All that Glisters, Hieroglyphics, Me and the Babbie, Loast)
• A collection of Scottish short stories (A Voice Spoke to me at Night by Helen McClory; Things My Wife and I Found Hidden in Our House by Kirsty Logan; Andrina by George Mackay Brown; Death In A Nut as told by Duncan Williamson)

Poetry

If your child’s teacher chooses poetry, pupils will study six poems – either by a single Scottish poet, or a collection by several different writers.

• Carol Ann Duffy (Originally; Mrs Midas; In Mrs Tilscher’s Class; Medusa; Havisham; Before You Were Mine)
• Norman MacCaig (Aunt Julia; Hotel room, 12th floor; Basking shark; On Lachie’s Croft; Landscape and I; Old Highland Woman)
• Jackie Kay (Gap Year; Keeping Orchids; Whilst Leila Sleeps; Grandpa’s Soup; Darling; Maw Broon Visits a Therapist)
• A set collection of Scottish poems (The Bonnie Earl o’ Moray (traditional ballad); The Twa Corbies (traditional ballad); A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns; Lochinvar by Sir Walter Scott; Auntie by Nadine Aisha Jassat; Little Girls by Len Pennie)

To mark the recent SQA Nationals and Highers exam results day, we’ve also taken a look at some of Scotland’s best-performing secondary schools – using the latest available data on pupils earning a wide range of qualifications. Find out which schools came out on top online here.