Scholar turns 25
Celebrating 25 years of impact
Viewed by many as Scotland’s first and most successful online learning provider, Scholar marks its 25th anniversary this year. Having registered more than a million learners since our creation, our online learning resource for schools and colleges boasts an average of 140,000 students and 15,000 teachers and lecturers registered each academic year.
Founded as a STEM focused resource, Scholar now delivers 42 complete online courses across 21 subjects at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels including English, Mathematics, Modern Languages, ESOL, Computing Science, Sciences, Business Management, Geography and Music.
Gaëlle Seal-Coon, Director of Scholar, said: “Scholar is SQA-aligned and our course content is crafted by practising subject-specialist teachers to ensure its relevance and depth. Content developers design our engaging and interactive courses, while our software developers deliver a seamless, user-friendly and accessible platform.
“What’s unique about the programme is that it uses real-time, data-driven insights for educators, including formative assessments with instant feedback so that decisions about next steps for learners can be personalised.”
Professor Richard A. Williams, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University said how pleased they were to be marking the 25th anniversary of Scholar.
He said: “Virtual teaching is increasingly a reality in Scotland as online learning spreads. “We’re very proud to have established a learning platform that is now used in nearly nine in 10 of Scotland’s schools and colleges, supporting schools and teachers in removing barriers, promoting equity and delivering effective learning and teaching, both in classrooms and at home.”
Scholar’s value
In a recent survey, teachers conveyed their confidence in Scholar materials, using them in whole class and group teaching as well as for homework. 86% of teachers expressed that they feel that Scholar has a positive effect on outcomes for learners.
When asked about the value of Scholar within Scottish education, Hon. Professor at the University of the West of Scotland Ken Muir, who was formerly the HMIE Chief Inspector and Chief Executive of GTC Scotland, praised Scholar’s flexibility saying that ‘Scholar provides all learners with well-planned, engaging courses that can be studied in a variety of ways, and over a timescale that best suits the individual learner.’ Walter Patterson, Education Consultant and former National Specialist in Computing and ICT, HMIE, expressed his confidence in the trust that educators have in Scholar, emphasising our close working relationship with teachers and lecturers, ‘Materials have been prepared by Scottish teachers with classroom experience of learning, teaching and assessment in the topics offered by Scholar.’
Constantly evolving
The Scholar platform is constantly evolving and responding to the changing needs of learners and teachers, ensuring that course content continues to be relevant and flexible, in and beyond the classroom. For example, the new cloud infrastructure allows a responsive platform to support evolving pedagogical approaches while ensuring data security compliance and a smooth user experience.
Looking ahead, Gaëlle Seal-Coon said that new developments will include developing content in areas such as AI and robotics to help widen learner pathways. She said:
“We’re continuing to develop our technology stack to ensure Scholar remains at the forefront of online education in Scotland and building closer ties with providers across Scotland and beyond, so that Scholar is further embedded in the education ecosystem and continues to inspire learning for the next 25 years.”