Information & Communications Technology (ICT)

ICT is taught in purpose-built rooms containing high specification machines running a diverse range of modern applications. All rooms are air conditioned and have projectors and interactive whiteboards used both by staff and pupils. A practical approach is used to teach ICT through a variety of business, educational and creative applications. The majority of ICT projects have cross curricular links and skills developed help pupils use ICT independently in other subjects across the school.

Lower School - Major topics

• Year 7: word processing, desk top publishing, spreadsheets, databases, image/video editing, CAD, interactive quizzes/games;
• Year 8: interactive presentations, website design, ICT and its impact on society, image editing, film-making;
• Year 9: word processing, desk top publishing, databases, image editing, control and modelling, CAD.
• Year 10 and 11 - OCR GCSE ICT A (1994)

This new GCSE builds on young people’s enthusiasm of digital media and devices. It explores how technology impacts on every aspect of people’s daily lives: learning and earning, leisure, shopping and money management, health and well being and on the move. It will teach students to be ‘savvy IT users’, who understand the risks as well as the benefits and use ICT safely and responsibly. The nature of the controlled assessment, with its emphasis on ‘doing’ rather than ‘writing about’ helps develop important transferable skills including problem solving, creative thinking and collaborative working.

Sixth Form

This course takes an in depth look at ICT principles. In addition, the qualification covers a mixture of teaching and learning experiences from the theoretical through to those with a clear practical emphasis. These are flexibly structured to give pupils plenty of choice to form qualifications which can be highly individual to their personal aptitudes, interests and ambitions. The course aims to give students:

• an understanding of the impact of ICT on society and organisation
• an awareness of the economic, social and ethical implications of the use of ICT
• the ability to analyse critically the use of IT systems
• interpersonal skills necessary for communicating and working with others

Staff

Martin Gale BEd : Head of Department
Mark Lindsay BSc
Alan Phoenix Holland BA, FdSc