Welcome to ICT !

  

 

 ICT Overview

The school is equipped with a school-wide network.  All students and staff can access their own home areas from anywhere in the school. There are 6 discrete ICT suites available within the ICT department along with various other suites available throughout the school. Both PC's and Apple Mac computers and laptops are used throughout the school.
 
ICT in the past few years has undergone huge transformations, as well as ICT in the school being awarded the ICT Becta mark for excellence we have also been awarded “Outstanding” in an ICT focused inspection by Ofsted in 2007/8.
 
The ICT department’s aims are to prepare students for their future education and careers by developing them into competent ICT users. We aim to develop their curiosity and understanding of technologies available and provide them with the confidence to apply new skills creatively.
 
Staffing
 
Currently the department has 5 specialist teachers and a number of well trained supporting teachers;
Mr S. Griffiths (Head of Department)
 
Mr S. Warren (VLE Manager)

Mr P Harvey - Teacher of ICT
Mr M. Buckle – Teacher of ICT
Mr D. Harding – Teacher of ICT
 
ICT Syllabus

Currently the department syllabus includes Year 7 and 8 following a preparatory course which equips them with the skills they will need in the later years. The course follows units of study which fulfil the national requirements and extend pupils knowledge and skills using real life ICT challenges. New case studies are introduced each half term and allow pupils to learn new skills and apply techniques learnt. 
 
In Year 7 all pupils receive one lesson per week of discrete ICT and in Year 8 all pupils receive two discrete lessons per week of ICT.Homework in Year 7 is provided as two separate homework learning tasks (HLT) throughout the year dates of which can be found on the VLE. In Year 8 homework is set as a preparation or information gathering exercise for the following ICT lesson.
 
In Year 9 pupils follow the Edexcel AiDA course (Unit 1 - Using ICT) which allows them to apply the skills gained in earlier years. This course gives students the opportunity to gain a GCSE equivalent qualification before the end of Key Stage 3. This arrangement is now into its third year and has proved highly successful with a large number of pupils gaining the qualification. (Read more about the qualification below and the Key Stage 3/4 folder for further information about each course)
 
Pupils in Year 9 all receive three discrete ICT lessons per week. All homework is coursework based. Pupils can work on their coursework at home and the tasks are all available online, or through the schools VLE.

Students in Years 10 and 11 currently study courses from the Edexcel DiDA suite of qualifications which enables them to gain up to three GCSE level qualifications by the end of Key Stage 4.  This builds upon the unit gained in Year 9 and gives them the flexibility of studying units such as multimedia and graphics The big difference between this and previous qualifications is that the students are assessed by submitting e-portfolios instead of producing printed work, that are submitted electronically for marking.  No paper involved and no exam - this is 100% coursework (See the Key Stage 4 folder for further information about each course)
 
ICT in Years 10 and 11 is delivered as three discrete ICT lessons per week. All homework is coursework based. Pupils can work on their coursework at home and the tasks are all available online, or through the schools VLE.
 
Extra Curricular Activities

The department has a programme of extra curricular activities at various times throughout the year including Animation Club, Flash Script for games and Computer Clubs for Girls as well as  a wide range of "catch up" coursework sessions. We also have links with Southampton University, whose students run after school master classes on multimedia including Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver. We have recently developed links with IBM to show pupils about ICT as a future carer