Scottish Curriculum for Excellence on ERA’s Video Streaming Platform

Whether you’re teaching a fully Scottish curriculum or use a blended approach, we’ve expanded our library on the ERA streaming platform to better support you and your students. Discover engaging, curriculum-linked content from BBC Scotland and beyond.

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Scottish Literature

From the haunting duality of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to the lyrical legacy of Robert Burns and George Mackay Brown, our collection features dramatisations and expert analysis from key works on the National 5 and Higher English syllabus.

Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

2007 | 57'07''

Writer Ian Rankin investigates The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, tracing Robert Louis Stevenson's story back to event...

Inside the Mind of Robert Burns

2020 | 58'06''

Writer Alan Bissett explores the complex brain of Robert Burns - a poetic genius with contradictory attitudes to women, politics and slavery.

Beyond Burns

2021 | 58'00''

Scots Makar Jackie Kay looks at the lives of some of the extraordinary, and often overlooked, poets that Scotland has produced and how they have told, and conti...

6: Robert Burns | Great Britons (1990)

BBC Two | 1990 | 58'32''

The fourth documentary in a series on Robert Burns, narrated by David Daiches.

In Search of Sir Walter Scott

2021 | 57'59''

To mark the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's birth, author Damian Barr goes in search of the legacy of one of Scotland's great historica...

A Poet's Guide to Britain | 3: George Mackay Brown

2011 | 29'10''

Owen Sheers explores poetry set in the British landscape. He looks at George Mackay Brown's Hamnavoe and visits his home t...

In The Dark | Domestic Magic

2016 | 10'29''

Family secrets and a murderous being emerge from the shadowy places of a couple’s new home, proving that just because you inherit something does...

Intermediate English: Poetry

2009 | 37'53''

Students get a chance to question, interpret and evaluate poems by Carol Ann Duffy and Liz Lochhead.

Scots Language

We’ve curated a collection of programmes that celebrate the rich history, diversity and cultural importance of the Scots language. You can also request select programmes from BBC Alba in full Scottish Gaelic, complete with English subtitles, to support bilingual understanding and promote cultural inclusion in the classroom.

Episode 1 | Blethering Scots

BBC Two | 2011 | 29'00''

Ten well-known personalities share their favourite Scots word and celebrate the warmth, wit and grit of the Scots language. Written by Sanjeev K...

Episode 2 | Blethering Scots

BBC Two | 2012 | 28'49''

Ten more well-known Scottish personalities share their favourite Scots words. Comedian Susan Calman is a wee 'besom', while Elaine C Smith has s...

Rebel Tongue

BBC Scotland | 2020 | 58'00''

Alistair Heather sets out on a mission to reclaim the Scots language. For years, Scotland’s ancient tongue was ignored or mocked. Now, one and a half million pe...

1: The Golden Age | The Mother Tongue

BBC One Scotland | 1986 | 29'06''

First of 3 documentaries tracing the history of the Scots tongue from its origins through to its heyday as the language of court, lite...

2: A Very Corrupt Dialect | The Mother Tongue

BBC One Scotland | 1986 | 29'18''

Billy KAY examines the roots of prejudice against Lowland Scots from the 1700s onwards in interviews with academics and native ...

3: Pan Loaf and Patter | The Mother Tongue

BBC One Scotland | 1986 | 28'30''

The final programme in the series in which Billy KAY traces the development of the Scots language.

Scottish Geography

Take students from the Highlands to the heart of land access debates with insightful documentaries. These programmes explore Scotland’s natural environment and how human activity has shaped it.

Making Scotland's Landscape

BBC One | 2010 | 59'30''

Professor Iain Stewart reveals how Scotland's unique landscape was shaped. Here, he uncovers the devastating impact of mankind and the climate on...

Scotland From the Sky

BBC One Scotland | 2019 | 59'01''

Jamie Crawford combines old aerial photographs with present-day drone and helicopter footage to uncover an amazing array of tales, from Shetland to Str...

Perth | TOWN with Nicholas Crane

BBC Two | 2011 | 58'56''

Nicholas Crane visits Perth, a royal burgh, gateway to the Scottish highlands and a town packed with history.

Highlands - Scotland's Wile Heart

BBC One | 2016 | 59'00''

Ewan McGregor narrates a series about the wildlife of the Scottish Highlands. It is spring, the most unpredictable of all seasons in the Ca...

The Mountain

BBC One | 2015 | 29'05''

Cairngorm is at the heart of Scotland's greatest winter wilderness. As the first storms of the winter blow in, the ski patrol is working hard to get the resort ...

Tales From the National Parks

BBC Four | 2011 | 58'44''

In Tyndrum gold fever has gripped the village's residents, but will the Loch Lomond Park Authority give permission for Scotland's first gold mine?

Landward

BBC Scotland | 2023 | 27'58''

Dougie's visiting Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairngorms to see how this vast landscape is regenerating for the future. Meanwhile, Cammy sets out to meet some inspiring...

Nature's Microworlds

BBC Four | 2012 | 29'03''

Steve Backshall shows how the two contrasting landscapes of open moor and Caledonian forest are both crucially important to the Highlands' wild inhabita...

The Battle for Scotland's Countryside

BBC One | 2018 | 59'01''

David Hayman presents a personal view of the battle for access to Scotland's countryside, revealing how this conflict has shaped the ph...

Scottish History

Guide students through Scotland’s past using powerful storytelling. From the tragedy of the HMY Iolaire to the rise of Alba and the lived experiences of WWI soldiers, these narratives help young people see history in their own communities.

A History of Scotland

BBC One Scotland | 2008 | 57'57''

At the dawn of the first millennia, there was no Scotland or England. Neil Oliver reveals how the Gaelic Scottish Kingdom - Alba - was born.

In Search of Scotland

BBC Two | 2001 | 29'06''

Exploring Scotland's dramatic history, Dr Fiona Watson begins with our mysterious Neolithic ancestors.

A Scottish Soldier: A Lost Diary of WWI

BBC Scotland | 2020 | 29'02''

Poet Jackie Kay tells the story of Arthur Roberts - one of thousands of black soldiers who fought in WWI. His diary provides a unique...

The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland

BBC Scotland | 2023 | 57'56''

Kirsty Wark reveals how pioneering women of the 1960s and 70s seized the baton from previous generations and surged forward to disrupt ...

Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1996 | 29'20''

Bicycling scientist Adam Hart-Davis looks at pioneers of science and invention. Includes the pocket calculator, kaleidoscopes, weighing the earth and melting ice.

Queens That Changed the World

Channel 4 | 2023 | 46'47''

Queen Anne took the throne in 1702. As the last Stuart monarch and the first queen of Great Britain, she united Scotland and England.

5: Tower Houses in Scotland | Castle

Channel 4 | 2003 | 49'29''

Marc Morris charts the 300-year development of the Tower House, from the fortress island community of Thrive Castle in Dumfriesshire to ...

In Sight of Home: The Iolaire

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'31''

Documentary providing a moving account of the HMY Iolaire, which tragically sank on New Year's Day 1919 and is arguably the greatest tragedy to...

War at Sea: Scotland's Story

BBC Two | 2015 | 58'59''

First of a two-part documentary in which David Hayman uncovers the story of the battle for control of the North Sea during the First World War.

The Singer Story: Made in Clydebank

BBC One Scotland | 2019 | 58'58''

Charting how the Singer sewing machine helped establish the town of Clydebank by employing tens of thousands of people before its demise ...

Scottish Society

Support discussions on class, race and identity with thought-provoking programming that includes stories of gang culture, economic inequality and the voices of Black Scots. These resources bring PSHE, Modern Studies and Sociology to life with authenticity.

Black and Scottish

BBC Scotland | 2019 | 28'00''

What does it mean to be black and Scottish? Director Stewart Kyasimire seeks out a range of black Scots of different ages and from diverse backgrounds to ...

Darren McGarvey's Scotland

BBC Scotland | 2019 | 28'57''

In 2018 Dundee was the drug death capital of Europe - Darren McGarvey goes behind the headlines to find out why. Meeting those caught up in the pr...

The Force: The Story of Scotland's Police

BBC One Scotland | 2017 | 58'58''

This episode tells the story of the origins of the lowest-ranking cop - the constable - a role which dates back some 400 years.

Darren McGarvey's Class Wars

BBC Scotland | 2021 | 57'59''

As Darren examines how social class shapes our identities and destinies, he meets people moving between the classes only for some uncomfortable ...

Darren McGarvey: The Staye We're In

BBC Scotland | 2024 | 58'57''

Darren McGarvey sets out to explore the UK's justice system through the eyes of the people who live and work in it.

Darren McGarvey's Addictions

BBC Scotland | 2022 | 57'59''

Darren McGarvey explores Scotland's dangerous love affair with alcohol. He meets doctors, scientists, and problem drinkers to understand why so ...

Street Gangs

BBC Scotland | 2023 | 28'00''

Ex-gang member Graeme Armstrong tries to understand why young people are seduced by the perceived glamour and excitement of gang.

Teaching Shakespeare without video is extremely difficult, using video opens up different interpretations and different ways of understanding.

Read the case study

David Robinson
English teacher
St George’s School, Edinburgh