One of the pupils who sat the under-review Higher history exam at Carnoustie High School has said she and her classmates were left “baffled and distraught” at being confronted with a topic they had not been taught.
The girl posted her feelings on a community Facebook page.
She claimed that her class had been taught about Germany in the 20th century and found themselves facing questions relating to the previous century.
“It was all pre-war about German unification and the German princes,” she wrote. “We were not taught that part of the course and we’re completely baffled and distraught at this outcome.
“Considering the already looming pressure of the exam, you can only imagine the state of mind we all took.”
She said anyone in doubt about the difficulty of the questions they faced should look at the exam paper, which is available from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Of the 19 pupils who sat the exam, 11 failed. Angus Council is investigating what happened and if anyone at the school was at fault.
The Courier understands that parents of the pupils have met to discuss the situation and are awaiting the outcome of the inquiry, which is expected next week.
The council confirmed on Monday that it was looking into the exam results and it has declined to make any further statement about its investigation while it is under way.
A spokeswoman said: “Other than the previously reported investigation relating to the Higher history exam at Carnoustie High School, no other investigations about exam results are taking place.
“No other complaints have been received and we are satisfied this has been an isolated incident. If any young person or parent wishes to discuss their exam results, they should contact their school.”
There has been a claim from the mother of a pupil at Monifieth High School that pupils taking the National 5 maths exam also found themselves facing subjects for which they were not prepared.
She said: “It seems that in most subjects questions were asked in exams that had not been covered. This is not the teachers’ fault or the schools’ but the SQA system it is failing these children big time.
“Maths is my daughter’s weakest subject and I would not have expected her to pass Nat 5 however there are a number of children who have had tutors for the last year who have also failed.”
A spokesman for the SQA said: “The National 5 maths paper for 2014 sampled across the published mandatory knowledge and skills of the course and was similar in standard to the published specimen question paper.”