The Home Economics Department aims to provide our learners with a motivating and stimulating environment in order to enrich their lives and provide them with both the practical and academic skills they require to progress into independent living.

HE at Girvan Academy

The Home Economics Department is a modern, bright and welcoming subject area of Girvan Academy. Although we are only a two specialist teacher department we are both highly skilled in the delivery of a wide range of courses at different academic levels. Pupils consistently choose to return to the department after S2 to continue with our Broad General Education course in S3 and again thereafter to progress to either national 4/5 in Hospitality Practical Cookery or National 4/5 Health and Food Technology in S4. Many S5/6 pupils also return to the subject to further progress their skills either academically to complete Higher Health and Food Technology or practically to complete the National 5 Cake Decorating course. Our pupils have pushed their boundaries and created some notable final showcase pieces.

In addition to the academic courses we offer in the senior phase we also run a Survival cookery class. This for many pupils is their final step before embarking on an independent life, going forward into the world of work or further education.

We always try to get the best from our pupils; those who have left often keep in touch and let us know how they are progressing.

BGE

• S1 receive 2 periods of HE per week, this is split between fabric and food skills.
• S2 receive 2 periods of HE per week. This is based on practical and theoretical food skills.
• S3 who have chosen the subject receive 2 periods of HE per week, this is again based on further developing practical and theoretical food skills in preparation for senior phase courses.

SENIOR PHASE

• S4 — Hospitality and/ or Health and Food Technology at National 4/5
• S5/6 — the options for S4 are available for the S5/6 in addition to Hospitality — Practical Cake, Higher Health and Food technology and Survival Cookery

Home Economics pupils are issued with homework to consolidate the work undertaken in class. Homework can take a variety of forms and might include written exercises; completion of class work; or research to support project work including senior phase unit assessment. To develop practical skills it is also expected that pupils practise these skills at home. Any pupil who wants access to a school developed recipe (not one issued by SQA for Hospitality assessment purposes) can access a bank of these recipes via the pupil shared site.