She was referring to one particular Higher question about how social class could influence voting, an issue analysed in detail at the East Lothian school. It was typical of a “straightforward” Paper 1, where questions featured plenty of familiar topics presented in a way unlikely to flummox.

Paper 2, where candidates had to perform the same report-writing exercise using a series of sources, should not have posed too many problems, given the familiarity of the topic. Pupils had to take on the role of a social policy expert, and prepare a report for an all-party group of MSPs where they made the case for or against free prescription charges.

Ms Hull, who is also co-ordinator of subject support for modern studies in East Lothian, did have concerns about the papers at Intermediate 1 and 2, but these related to long-standing issues about format, rather than this year’s content.

The school works hard to pre-empt problems by producing preliminary papers that “scrupulously” match the real thing, down to the type and colour of paper. Even so, pupils often miss out a large chunk of a question because “they just didn’t see it” going on to the next page. Problems also arise because topics are sub-divided, and questions are not always clear.

One question related to decision-making in central government, another to decision-making in Scotland; Ms Hull is concerned that students who studied the latter will mistakenly have applied it to the former, because of the similarities between the questions.