IT

Information Technology

Middle School
We want all students to achieve a minimum standard of computer literacy; to be confident, competent computer users by the end of Year 9, so that they can take advantage of these vital skills in their future studies. 

The course focuses on the use of computer software to solve problems and analyse large amounts of data as well as using technology to create effective presentations. The latter part of the course allows pupils to learn to present to larger groups in theatre settings – a key skill for later use in their academic career. Computer programming has now been introduced with the use of 'Scratch'.

Year 10 & 11
The aim of the course that we offer is to ensure that all pupils, whether or not they choose to continue with the study of ICT at GCSE level, have sufficient skills to be able to use computers as an effective study tool in their other subjects, both in the Sixth Form and beyond. In this respect they are taught how to use a word processor, spreadsheet, graphing package and database to a high standard. We also introduce pupils to programs that they may not have used before and may find interesting. 

Examples of packages that we use are:
Web-site design
Radio Adverts
Video
Animation

Some students have been given Raspberry Pii computers so that they can add to their programming knowledge.

A recent competition was held to make a poster for Lower School students on staying safe on social networking sites. This was won by Sarah Dutton, Year 10, who produced an excellent poster, this is displayed below:

IT_Webpage_2

Careers and Further Study Options
There is a wealth of opportunity for those aiming at career paths that lead to IT and computer-focused employment including programming, computer systems management, systems development and IT consultancy.

Further study options could involve the fields of computer science, software engineering, artificial intelligence, multimedia and many other computer-related subjects.  This qualification will also assist in the use of computing in other subject areas such as business, management, engineering and science.