Broad General Education
Broad General Education (BGE) is an important term within Curriculum for Excellence. Each child is entitled to a BGE from the very start of their school career in the early years right through primary and the first three years of Secondary school.
After S3 pupils move into the senior phase of their education where they start to focus on a narrower curriculum leading to National Qualifications.
The BGE is designed to provide pupils with a strong foundation in their learning in a wide variety of curriculum areas. The diagram below shows how a child will progress through the BGE. It should be noted that every child is different and will progress through the stages at different rates.
Pre-School: P1 |
Most Pupils at Early Level |
P2-P4 |
Most Pupils at First Level |
P5-P7 |
Most Pupils at Second Level |
S1-S3 |
Most Pupils at Third/Fourth Level |
S4-S6 |
Senior Phase |
When pupils join us in S1 at Beeslack Community High School the structure of the BGE is outlined in the diagram below.
S1 | S2 | S3 |
English/Literacy Maths/Numeracy Social Subjects Expressive Arts Health and Wellbeing Technologies Science Religious and Moral Education Personal and Social Education |
English/Literacy Maths/Numeracy Social Subjects Expressive Arts Health and Wellbeing Technologies Science Religious and Moral Education Personal and Social Education |
English Maths Core PE, RME and PSE Personalisation: Choose 6 Subjects |
Interdisciplinary Learning & Employability |
In Beeslack we want to ensure that we meet the needs of all learners and provide flexible learner pathways to allow every child the opportunity to succeed. During S1-3 pupils will make a small number of personal choices throughout but in particular at the end of S2. At this stage pupils will begin to focus on particular subjects allowing them to begin to deepen their learning in these subjects.
During S1 to S3 pupils will be assessed through a wide variety of means within the BGE. Assessment in S1-3 will include class and year group tests but will also include other ways of assessing progress such as talks and presentations, posters, practical activities, teamwork exercises etc.
Throughout S1-3 parents will receive a number of tracking reports and a full report on the progress of their child as well as a Parents’ Consultation Evening with teachers. We encourage all parents to contact the school at any point if they have a concern regarding their child’s progress in school.
The National Parent Forum of Scotland has produced a wide range of materials on Curriculum for Excellence to help parents understand the curriculum and what it means for their child. A number of these documents have been uploaded here.