Options available when creating a school bespoke syllabus
In the BGS Study App, a ‘syllabus’ is the arrangement of lessons and progress tests, determining the order in which they are presented to users of the App. We produce some ‘standard syllabi’ for each of the courses we have available. In addition, you may opt for a bespoke arrangement to match the way you deliver the course to your students. Please see the end of this document for details about our standard syllabi.
The options selected for some of our standard syllabi are at the end of this guide.
To accommodate the needs of a variety of schools, we have many options when constructing a syllabus. The purpose of this guide is to help you to understand the implications of the various choices available to you.
To help us construct a bespoke syllabus we will ask you to complete a short survey which guides you through the information we need to prepare your syllabus. When you have completed the survey, one of our team will prepare your syllabus as a draft and add it to the account you specify in the survey, to give you the opportunity to check it meets your requirements before allocating it to any of your students. You can find the survey here
As it says at the beginning of the survey, please ask us if you want any further explanation by emailing [email protected]
Learning Objectives
Currently, there is only one set of learning objectives for PPL and BIR courses, so you might not see this question. If you are specifying a course for ATPL, CPL or IR, we need to know whether it is for a current EASA or UK CAA course, in which case your answer should be 2018 – ECQB2024 or a course based on the old EASA learning objectives. This is possible if you are approved by an EASA compliant State that is not an EASA Member State. If you are unsure, please ask us before submitting the survey.
Maths and Physics
EASA and UK CAA regulations require that the Head of Training satisfies him or herself that candidates have a sufficient level of maths and physics before they are enrolled on an approved course. You may have your own arrangements for compliance with this requirement, or it may not apply, for example, if you are not specifying for an EASA or UK CAA approved course or you are specifying for a PPL course.
We have written a short course that satisfies the requirement. It is pitched at ‘high school’ level and many students find it a useful revision course, especially if it is some time since they studied these subjects.
If you want to include our Maths and Physics courses in your syllabus, you have a few options.
- Our normal arrangement is to combine the maths and physics lessons in a module before the main theory subjects with the KSA lessons. However, you have the option to separate maths and physics from the KSA lessons or to put the maths and physics lessons within one of your main theory modules.
- We usually allow students to attempt the maths and physics progress test before they have read the lessons. Our normal arrangement limits students to one attempt of the test without completing the lessons. If they pass, the lessons are marked as complete and they may proceed. If they fail, they are required to complete all the lessons before being permitted a second attempt at the test. This is to cater for students who do not need the revision and just need to prove their understanding of the subjects before progressing to the main theory subjects. However, you might require all students to complete the maths and physics lessons before doing the tests.
KSA
EASA and UK CAA MPL, CPL, and ATPL courses must now include training and testing in pilot competencies; the ‘KSA subject’. We have other guides on the website explaining our KSA course in more detail and recommend that you read those if you are not sure about the following options. If you do want to include our KSA training our normal arrangement is the lessons in a module preceding the other subjects (which may be combined with maths and physics as discussed above) then a KSA testing module after the other subjects.
The KSA testing module contains a mental arithmetic lesson, a short lesson explaining the summative test, and a summative test as a progress test.
Mental arithmetic testing may be completed in one of two ways. Either the student may sit an unsupervised progress test (“self-tested”) or you may supervise a fixed test delivered using the software (“supervised”). The instructions for this are on a guide on our website. In the survey you will be asked for your choice of testing.
Final Progress Tests
After most lessons there is a lesson quiz. This is aimed to provide learners with a self-administered check of understanding of the lesson contents. We do not recommend that you take much notice of your students’ lesson quiz results.
The progress tests, however, are designed to be a better measure of student performance. There is a test after each topic which may be covered in one or several lessons. The tests are mostly questions selected at random from a larger pool of questions, so candidates will be presented with a different set of questions at each attempt.
You have the option to include a final test for each subject, which tests all topics within the subject. Our standard syllabi do not include a final progress test.
Modules
Most syllabi are divided into two or more ‘modules’ which contain all the lessons relating to several of the subjects in a syllabus. The term module may be replaced by other titles such as phases. This is an example of what a syllabus construction could be.
Within each module, you may arrange the lessons and tests however you wish. The most usual arrangements are in series or parallel.
Series means that all the lesson and progress tests in a subject will be arranged in order, followed by another subject, etc., something like this:
| Subject 1, lesson 1 |
| Subject 1, lesson 2 |
| Subject 1, lesson 3 |
| Subject 1, progress test 1 |
| Subject 1, lesson 4 |
| Subject 1, lesson 5 |
| Subject 1, progress test 2 |
| Subject 1, lesson 6 |
| Subject 1, lesson 7 |
| Subject 1, lesson 8 |
| Subject 1, progress test 3 |
| Subject 2, lesson 1 |
| Subject 2, lesson 2 |
| Subject 2, progress test 1 |
| etc. |
Parallel means that the subjects will be mixed, so delivered in parallel. We will prepare the lessons in groups based on the topics, perhaps something like this
| Subject 1, lesson 1 |
| Subject 1, lesson 2 |
| Subject 1, lesson 3 |
| Subject 1, progress test 1 |
| Subject 2, lesson 1 |
| Subject 2, lesson 2 |
| Subject 2, progress test 1 |
| Subject 1, lesson 4 |
| Subject 1, lesson 5 |
| Subject 1, progress test 2 |
| Subject 3, lesson 1 |
| Subject 3, lesson 2 |
| Subject 3, lesson 3 |
| Subject 3, progress test 1 |
| etc. |
If you wish to have the lessons presented exactly in the order you specify, select parallel in the survey, and in the additional comments question at the end of the survey, say ‘lessons arranged in a specified order, please provide a spreadsheet’. We will then send you a spreadsheet containing a list of all lessons and tests in your syllabus which you can then arrange yourself into the order you would like them. When you are happy with your arrangement, send it back to us and we will prepare your syllabus as you specify.
In the survey we will ask you to specify how many modules you want and which subjects should be in each module.
Restricted access
There are two forms of access restrictions we can apply to your syllabus, which will prevent students from gaining access before you want them to.
Restricted progress tests mean your students cannot gain access to progress tests until they have completed the lessons associated with that test.
Module prerequisites mean that students cannot get access to a module until they have completed a preceding module.
If you specify either of these, bear in mind that when you or your staff come to check the syllabus, the restrictions will apply to their accounts too. Some schools therefore ask us to prepare a staff version of the syllabus. If you want that please add a remark in the additional comments question at the end ‘please prepare an additional STAFF syllabus without the restrictions’.
Summary
If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask; just email [email protected] We can easily have one of our team who understands the regulations, and the way our software can help you comply, join you on a phone or video call to help you make your choices.
Standard Syllabi
These are the options selected for some of our standard ATPL(A) and ATPL(H)/IR syllabi
| LOs | M&P | KSA | Mental Maths | M&P and KSA | M&P restricted | M&P restriction | Final Progress Tests | Module name | Arrangement | # modules | Module prerequisites |
| 2018 | Yes | Yes | Self tested | In one module | Yes | Allow initial attempt | No | Module | Parallel | 3 | None |
| Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 |
| 022 Instrumentation
040 Human Performance and Limitations 050 Meteorology 061 General Navigation |
010 Air Law
022 Aircraft General Knowledge 033 Flight Planning and Monitoring 062 Radio Navigation 090 Communications |
031 Mass and Balance
032/034 Performance 070 Operational Procedures 081/082 Principles and Flight |
Read the next blog: Which of the ATPL Exams are the Hardest?
