- Borders headteacher calls for “knowledge-based and content-rich” learning
- Bruce Robertson implemented change at Berwickshire High with dramatic boost in attainment
- Robertson, with Professor Lindsay Paterson, call for national rollout of the curriculum review implemented at Berwickshire
Reform Scotland, the independent, non-partisan think tank, has today published a new paper written by Professor Lindsay Paterson, professor emeritus of education policy in the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh, and Bruce Robertson, the Director of Next Level Educational, education author and headteacher of Berwickshire High School.
The paper – How a knowledge-based curriculum could transform Scottish education – details how Mr Robertson turned Berwickshire High School from ‘weak’ and ‘unsatisfactory’ in an HMIE inspection, to a school recognised as sector-leading, in only four years.
At Berwickshire High, Mr Robertson has:
- Redefined the meaning and purpose of the curriculum as ‘content’
- Ensured the content-rich curriculum was knowledge-based and skills-oriented
- Led the development of detailed ‘Programmes for Teaching and Learning’ to set out in detail the school’s curriculum
Since 2018:
- The percentage of pupils attaining 5+ Level 5 qualifications in S4 has gone from 44% to 64% (in 2023)
- The percentage of pupils attaining 5+ Level 6 qualifications in S5 has gone from 21% to 41% (in 2024)
- Inspectors noted that “the quality and consistency of learning, teaching and assessment has improved considerably across the school”
The full paper can be read here.
Bruce Robertson, Headteacher at Berwickshire High School, said:
“At Berwickshire, we have shown that it is possible to work within Curriculum for Excellence and still create a curriculum based on knowledge and rich in content, which both increases the attainment of students and better prepares them for life and work.
“We took a curriculum which had, in effect, very little clear content, and in which the intended outcomes were vague and ambiguous, and redesigned it for the betterment of teaching and learning.
“We did it at Berwickshire High. It can and should happen all over the country.”
Professor Lindsay Paterson said:
“At Berwickshire, Bruce Robertson’s leadership and innovation have transformed outcomes for his students by putting knowledge-based content back into his school’s curriculum.
“The return of knowledge to the curriculum throughout the rest of Scotland could produce a new generation of talent.
“As a matter of urgency, the Scottish Government should now strongly encourage schools throughout Scotland to learn from Bruce’s ‘Programmes of Teaching and Learning’ model and roll it out throughout the country.”
Chris Deerin, Director of Reform Scotland, said:
“The performance of Scotland’s schools is, with good reason, a cause of national concern. The most recent PISA figures were particularly alarming – Scotland appears to have entered a long decline when it comes to pupil performance in key areas such as reading, maths and science.
“As it stands, the Curriculum for Excellence is not serving Scotland’s teachers, pupils or parents as well as it should or could. However, as the results from Berwickshire High School show, Robertson’s redesign has led to dramatic improvements in pupil performance.
“We hope policymakers play close attention.
An online discussion event about the paper is taking place on Wednesday 29 January. Find out more here.