What Saturday School can do for you

​Based in the award-winning, state-of-the-art Saunders Centre in The Glasgow Academy, Saturday School is a SQA Approved Centre offering tuition, revision and part-time National Qualification courses.  All of our National 5 and Higher Tutors are all fully qualified, GTCS-registered teachers in Maths, English, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

​Saturday School tutors offers:​

  • Weekly taught lessons
  • Weekly small group revision classes
  • Prelim revision sessions
  • Easter revision classes
  • SQA in a Day intensive revision courses
  • Private one to one tuition in National 5 or Higher subjects
  • The Catherine McEwan Foundation Scholarship
  • Free revision classes in support of charity

What we provide

All students are provided with a wealth of learning materials and stationery for each National 5 or Higher class they attend.  This applies to all tutoring classes and full qualification courses.

Constant online support is also offered to all of our students, so the support our tutors provide extends well beyond the Saturday morning class.

​Saturday School also provides:

  • All necessary stationery
  • SQA endorsed textbooks
  • Past paper and mock exams
  • A vast online learning library
  • Snacks and drinks

Get a qualification with us!

National 5 Maths is becoming increasingly sought after as a qualification for adults who have left school, in some case several years ago.  Most adults hold existing and often outdated qualifications such as Intermediate 2 or Standard Grades from their time in high school.  This can often create a barrier to career changes and progression, as National 5 Maths has become a very common entry requirement to an increasing number of college and university courses.
Demand for the SQA National 5 Maths Qualification among the adult population often exceeds the number of spaces available with college courses rapidly filling each year.

Saturday School is often the solution for adult learners who require the qualification yet do not have the option of completing a full-time weekday or evening course.  Completing your National 5 Maths Qualification with us allows adults to gain the award with minimum impact on their weekly, working life.  Classes are run on a part-time weekend basis on Saturday mornings.
Teachers who deliver this class are full time, fully qualified GTCS registered teachers who are currently delivering the N5 Maths course in Scottish schools or colleges.  The courses fee covers all taught classes, learning materials, textbooks, stationery, snacks and refreshments.  Saturday School also complete your registration with SQA for the all-important final exam.
Typical entrants to this course are often:

  • Looking to enhance their career prospects
  • Considering a career change
  • Prospective entrants into primary teaching (PGDE Primary)
  • Prospective entrants into secondary teaching (PGDE Secondary)
  • Looking to progress from HNC or HND courses into university degree courses
  • Applicants for nursing or midwifery courses
  • Prospective entrants into armed forces or emergency services
  • Simply looking to enhance their existing Maths and problem-solving skills

This course is Individual Training Accounts (ITA) enabled, meaning you may qualify for financial support up to £200 towards your course fee.

​Find more information on the SQA National 5 Maths Qualification page.

More about Weekly Lessons

Weekly lessons are 80 minutes long which allows a deeper and more impactful learning experience compared to typical school periods.  Our fully qualified, GTCS-registered teachers will deliver high quality lessons on the set content for that day, allowing time at the end for the all-important worked examples and exam level practice on the area which has been taught.

  • Students will also be left with additional recommendations of selected questions from SQA past papers, or our own exam-standard examples, which will allow them to further develop in the specified area beyond the lesson.
  • As well as vital face-to-face teaching, students are given access to Saturday School’s online platform where they can access a wealth of digital learning materials and can also contact our staff, anytime, day or night, for extra support.
  • Weekly lessons allow students to master an area they may not yet have fully grasped, being re-taught to our unrivalled high standards by our expert staff.
  • It also offers students the opportunity to learn key content for the first time with us, in our unique and highly effective learning environment, meaning, that when it is introduced in school, they will have the advantage of prior knowledge, ability and confidence in what will be a familiar area of the course for them.
  • Weekly lessons also provide an opportunity to fill gaps in knowledge that students may have due to attendance or lack of contact time with their teachers.
  • Weekly lessons are aimed at any pupil or student studying SQA National 5 or Higher Biology, Chemistry, English, Human Biology, Maths, Physics or Spanish. 

More about our Grade Booster Days

Grade Booster Days come in twos!

Grade Booster day 1:

Day 1 takes place during the Easter holiday and begins the process of a full course review in preparation for all final assessments and SQA exams.  A carefully selected list of key areas, knowledge and skills from across the higher or National 5 subject is covered.  We make sure that the theory is re-taught, covering any gaps, before going on to build the necessary skills to successfully deal with these areas under exam conditions.  Our teachers are fully qualified, real teacher who know their subjects inside out, so we know exactly how to prepare young people for the challenges ahead.

Grade Booster Day 2:

Day 2 continues and completes the brilliant work done in Day 1.  After quick look back at Day 1, we introduce the next careful selection of key areas, knowledge and skills to bring all of the learning and consolidation together for students.  The timing is perfect as we schedule Day 2 as close to the exam as possible and in most cases, Day 2 runs the weekend before the final exam.  This means all the revision, tips and techniques are fresh and fully reviewed, leaving students ready to take on the final exam with maximised confidence.

Grade Booster Days for National 5 and Higher English, Maths, Biology, Human Biology, Chemistry and Physics offer students the opportunity to build on the work and grades they have achieved in class and coursework to ensure that any remaining prelims and course assessments are completed with the highest possible chances of success.  Joining our Grade Booster Days creates the increased likelihood of better predicted grades being submitted to SQA for students and can “pull up” any average scores across assessments which centres are making on their students.

In order to create recommended grades, schools are expected to gather their evidence on candidate performance across a range of assessment events and not just a single prelim.  There is also an expectation that a wide range of the course and its associated skill and knowledge is/are assessed.  As students enter into the final stages of their courses, the improved performance, knowledge and confidence gained from our Grade Booster Days aim to raise the attainment of those who take part.

During the N5 and Higher Grade Booster Days students can expect:

  • Re-teaching and revised, in-depth coverage of the most pertinent key areas of SQA National 5 or Higher Maths, English, Biology, Human Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Spanish.
  • A forward-looking approach to the type of assessments which remain for the students and a content-focused approach to maximise the preparedness for these.
  • A fully qualified and GTCS registered teacher.
  • Tutorial style completion of exam standard questions and analysis of the worked solutions by application of the SQA marking instructions.
  • Focus on further developing exam/assessment technique, knowledge consolidation and problem-solving skills.
  • Subsequent ongoing support online seven days per week, from expert tutors via a secure, online learning platform.  This gives students the opportunity to ask questions, seek support and download from Saturday School Limited’s bank of learning materials all the way through to the final exam.
  • All stationery and learning materials.
  • A half-hour break with snacks and refreshments provided.

Grade Booster Days are aimed at anyone studying SQA National 5 or Higher Biology, Chemistry, English, Maths, Physics or Spanish.

Who manages Saturday School?

Graeme is the Co-Director and Co-Owner of Saturday School Ltd.  As well as managing the tuition courses at Saturday School, Graeme also delivers the Physics weekly revision sessions, Easter classes and the SQA in a Day courses.  Until Spring 2019 he was Faculty Leader of Science at Wallace High School in Stirling and is now the Head of STEM Programmes at SSERC. Before completing his university degree in Physics and subsequent PGDE, Graeme trained and worked in industry, spending six years as a Mechanical Services Engineer.

Graeme is passionate about linking higher/further education and work beyond high school into learning – raising participation and engagement in STEM among young people on a national scale is now his main objective. He works with organisations such as Education Scotland, Scotland’s Science Centres, STEM Hubs, Youth Groups and The Engineering Development Trust to create learning opportunities and projects for young people in Scotland.

“Ensuring that our young people in Scotland have the highest quality education, opportunities and support should be at the forefront of everything we do as education practitioners.  STEM in particular, is at the heart of everything and we benefit from STEM on an almost second-by-second basis.  That’s why I’m proud to support the next generation to explore and seize the countless exciting opportunities that exist in STEM”.