Individual learning

One size does not fit all with a tailored curriculum

Each of Scotland’s independent schools offer a comprehensive curriculum designed to encourage individuals to adapt easily, develop resilience and be able to research and think on their own.

The schools have a focus on developing confident and mature young people who are ready to take on the next stage of their education.

And that is ensured by a diverse academic offering which starts at the beginning of a pupil’s education.

Early Days Nurseries in Edinburgh has seven qualified primary teachers across six separate facilities where the Pre-birth to Three Curriculum provides the foundations for the Curriculum for Excellence.

Early Days owner Maureen Crandles says: “If you are comfortable in your inner self then you can learn. We have that underpinning the curriculum and we always do a significant programme on literacy and numeracy, which is embedded in everything we do in the nursery.”

Early Days’ weekly Forest School concept allows its children to learn outdoors, from hillwalking to berry picking, which has an impressive impact on the individual child.

Crandles says: “You get wee shy, introverted children who, after Forest School, are having a go at things you did not think they had the confidence to do and that is transferred onto their learning in the nursery.”

Scotland’s preparatory schools equip youngsters with skills for Common Entrance and scholarship exams as well as the confidence to move on to their next level of education.

St Mary’s School in Melrose prepares children for tests in English, mathematics, science, French, Latin and history.

Headmaster Liam Harvey says: “I’ve also developed our curriculum to include Greek at Common Entrance level over the last two years. The success last year was quite outstanding, in that everyone who sat it received As and were accepted by various senior schools north and south of the Border.”

Meanwhile, at Ardvreck School in Crieff, the curriculum includes a bespoke individual programme to meet each child’s needs as well as the value-added Ardvreck Enrichment Programme, which sees speakers from all walks of life visit the school.

When transitioning into a senior school, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is a straightforward curriculum to ease into, according to Dr Michael Carslaw, the head of St Leonards School in St Andrews.

His is the only school in Scotland to concentrate 100 per cent on the two-year programme, which is highly regarded by universities and employers worldwide.

St Leonards also offers the one-year PRE-IB course, which incorporates GCSES and IGCSE qualifications to prepare pupils for the IB diploma itself.

Carslaw says: “We find that people coming into the school fly because they are in this sweetie box of learning and they really take off.

“They are learning in a way they would at work or university, and those basic principles start from as early as possible. So we are very fortunate in having a school that goes from year-one to 13.”

However, most schools offer a blend of curricula to provide as bespoke a learning model for their pupils as possible.

For example, St George’s School for Girls in Edinburgh offers both GCSES and Scottish Highers. Head Alex Hems says: “We like the fact the girls have a choice and if they end up taking nine or ten GCSES, the twoyear rigour of the courses seems to do very well in preparing them for the approach to study and the more demanding content of Higher and Advanced Higher.”

Hems’ school celebrates turning 150 this year by encouraging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – STEM subjects – through a dedicated festival.

It is also hosting a literacy festival to honour the contribution of women authors in British literature.

Girls at St George’s regularly socialise at planned events with the boys at Merchiston Castle School, also in the Capital, where pupils benefit from a blended curriculum of GCSES, A levels and Highers.

Head Jonathan Anderson says: “We want pupils to go out into the world as flexible, adaptable young men as some of the jobs they will go into haven’t been invented yet. We need to give them that agility in the workplace.”

A key advantage of an independent education is the opportunity to adapt the form and delivery of a curriculum for an individual pupil.

The High School of Dundee follows the national Scottish educational programme, but has recently developed an integrated curriculum underpinned by six core values – honesty, kindness, creativity, resilience, confidence and respectfulness.

Rector Dr John Halliday says: “It really is a conscious effort to bring everything together, the academic, the co-curricular and the pastoral.

“I put pastoral at the top of this triangle then the academic and co-curricular, so it is not separate add-ons but all linked together.”

Being autonomous allows independent schools to be flexible and provide a tailored approach to learning in just this manner.

Strathallan School in Forgandenny, Perthshire, follows the English GCSE and A level curriculum, but offers Highers over the last two years of study.

Headmaster Mark Lauder says that a two-year sixth form at his school allows pupils to train for less academic disciplines, such as sport, music and drama.

He says: “We offer Highers over two years, rather than one as you do in the Scottish national system.

“That is because the A level model is the bulk of the school, so a twoyear Higher fits with that rather than creating a big divide between those doing Highers and those doing A levels.”

Another advantage of an independent education, in terms of the curricula available, is the autonomous schools’ ability to go one step further.

Pupils at Erskine Stewart’s Melville Schools in Edinburgh follow a broad curriculum and undertake National 5s over two years from S3, before undertaking five Highers after S4 and three Advanced Highers in its sixth form.

Principal Linda Moule says: “I think the beauty of this school is that we are able to offer a wide range of courses that you probably wouldn’t get in a lot of other establishments, and we are able to meet the requirements of pupil choices.”

Another independent place of learning with a distinctive offering is Loretto School in Musselburgh, which follows the GCSE and A level path. It has recently added new subjects, including psychology, Mandarin, geology and computer science.

Head Dr Graham Hawley

Most schools offer a blend of curricula to provide as bespoke a learning model for their pupils as possible

says: “We have also introduced some Business and Technology Educational Council qualifications and that is an alternative route to universities.”

As technology continues to advance, it is increasingly becoming part of independent schools’ curricula.

Mark Becher, head of the Compass School in Haddington, says: “Education is not something that is done to children, it is part of their own learning journey, and we encourage children to take responsibility for that, from target setting to the way they record their learning. That can be by means of a jotter or an ipad.

“As one of Scotland’s first digital schools, we use ipads as part of our children’s learning, so building up a real digital literacy and knowledge is very important for pupils.”

The curriculum provided by any independent school will be modern, open and flexible and will prepare individuals for further education and the jobs of the future.

John Edward, Director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools, adds: “It is a well-worn expression – not just in the independent-school sector –but the assumption is that all pupils are now carrying as much technology in their pocket as a whole classroom would have had ten years so.

“As people mature in the internet dominant world, people understand it more and so there is a lot more built into the curriculum.”