ICT

Key Stage 3:

All Key Stage 3 pupils have one lesson per week. We offer a broad range of software packages and skill based lessons in an effort to bring all students up to a common level. We endeavour to teach each pupil a wide skill base which they can transfer into other subject areas.

Pupils carry out units of work in the following areas:

Year 8 - Photoshop, Word, Excel, Cyber Safety, Kodu.

Year 9 - Powerpoint/Multimedia, Movie Maker, Code.org

Year 10 - Gamemaker, Dreamweaver, Python

Key Stage 4

Pupils who choose to follow the GCSE path in the ICT subject area, have two choices.

• CCEA GCSE Digital Technology - Multimedia
• OCR GCSE Computer Science

The Digital Technology specification aims to encourage students to:

• acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of Digital Technology in a range of contexts;
• develop and evaluate Digital Technology based solutions to solve problems;
• develop their understanding of current and emerging technologies and the social and commercial impact of these technologies;
• develop their understanding of the legal, social, economic, ethical and environmental impact of Digital Technology;
• recognise potential risks when using Digital Technology and develop safe, secure and responsible practice;
• develop the skills needed to work collaboratively.

The Computer Science specification aims to encourage students to:

• develop practical and creative problem solving skills;
• develop understanding and application of core concepts in Computer Science;
• analyse problems in computational terms;
• devise creative solutions by designing, writing, testing and evaluating problems.

Key Stage 5

Pupils who choose to follow the Post-16 route in the ICT subject area, have three choices.

GCE CCEA A Level Digital Technology

This course is designed for students interested in current and emerging technologies, the impact they have and how to use them effectively.

New technologies, networks and services are transforming the way we communicate with each other, how we work and the way we learn.

GCE Digital Technology gives students opportunities to develop advanced skills in a range of development environments and apply these to relevant work-related scenarios.

Students will also acquire other skills valued in further and higher education, as well as in the workplace; these include research, investigation, analysis, communication skills, problem solving and working with others.

WJEC A level Computer Science

This A Level in Computer Science encourages learners to develop:

• an understanding of, and the 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 for thinking creatively, innovatively, analytically, logically and critically;
• the capacity to see relationships between different aspects of Computer Science mathematical skills;
• the ability to articulate the individual (moral), social (ethical), legal and cultural opportunities and risks of Digital Technology.

Pearson BTEC National Extended Certificate in IT

This course comprises of the following units of work:

• Unit 1: Learners study the role of computer systems & the implications of their use in personal & professional studies (Exam Unit- externally assessed)
• Unit 2: Learners study the design, creation, testing & evaluation of a relational database system to manage information (Case Study - Controlled Assessment)
• Unit 3; Learners explore how businesses use social media to promote their products and services. Learners also implement social media activities in a business to meet requirements.
• Unit 6: Learners investigate website development principles. They will design& develop a website using scripting languages.