Our ICT Staff
- 2 full-time ICT Specialists.
- 1 on-site Technicians
Year 7
Pupils learn about E-safety when using computers, Spreadsheet skills, Design and create programs in Scratch and using Micro:bit. Students are taught about how data is represented and computer hardware. They also look at how to present work effectively and are introduced to sound editing.
Year 8
In year 8 students complete work searching the Internet, create websites, do games design, Database skills, theory in Computer Science, Spreadsheets and a creative project at the end of the year.
Year 9
In year 9 students continue with 1 hour of ICT/Computing..
Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
At key stage 4 students have the option to opt for IT and/or Computer Science.
The Computer Science course gives students a real, in-depth understanding of how computer technology works. Students will no doubt be familiar with the use of computers and other related technology from their other subjects and elsewhere. However, we aim to give them an insight into what goes on ‘behind the scenes’, which includes computer programming. The course provides excellent preparation for higher study and employment in the field of Computer Science.
The course develops critical thinking, analysis and problem-solving skills through the study of computer programming, giving students a fun and interesting way to develop these skills, which can be transferred to other subjects and even applied in day-to-day life.
In this respect, the course provides excellent preparation for students who want to study or work in areas that rely on these skills, especially where they are applied to technical problems. These areas include engineering, financial and resource management, science and medicine.
OCR Level 1/2 Cambridge National Certificate in Creative iMedia
This qualification allows students to think creatively and innovatively to produce Creative iMedia products. All students will study two, mandatory, topics. The first topic will focus on developing the students’ understanding of pre-production skills that are used in the creative and digital media sector. Meeting the needs of the client, planning and creating pre-production documentation and reviewing output, will all feature heavily in this first topic.
The second topic of study will build on the first, enabling students to demonstrate pre-production skills and techniques as they plan and create new digital graphics to meet a specific client brief. Knowledge and understanding will be reinforced and enhanced as students create their own unique digital graphic solution.
In addition, students will have a choice of two optional topics to study from the following areas:
- Creating 2D and 3D digital characters and storytelling with a comic strip
- Multipage website creation, digital animation and interactive multimedia product creation
- Creating a digital sound and video sequence
- Digital photography
- Designing and developing digital game concepts.
Whichever topic is chosen, students will need to refine and develop their pre-production skills to meet the needs of particular client briefs, ensuring their output is fit for purpose.
The hands-on approach of this qualification has strong relevance to the way young people use the technology required in today’s society. In addition to developing creative , digital skills and knowledge, students will acquire a number of essential transferable skills such as planning, research and analysis, working with other people and communicating creative concepts effectively; all of which are relevant to work or going on to further study.
Key Stage 5 (Years 12-13)
In the sixth form students have the option to do a BTEC Level 3 Certificate in IT or A-Level Computing qualifications.
The aims of the Computer Science qualification are to enable learners to develop:
- An understanding and ability to apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including: abstraction, decomposition, logic, algorithms and data representation
- The ability to analyse problems in computational terms through practical experience of solving such problems, including writing programs to do so.
- The capacity to think creatively, innovatively, analytically, logically and critically.
- The capacity to see relationships between different aspects of computer science
- Mathematical skills.
Links to support students
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/zvc9q6f – BBC Bitesize Computer Science KS3
http://www.cambridgegcsecomputing.org/ – Cambridge GCSE Computing Online
https://www.codecademy.com/ – Learn to code
http://www.teach-ict.com/ – Teach ICT
https://code.org/ – Code Studio/Hour of code
https://www.microbit.co.uk/ – Micro:bit resources
