Information Communication Technology

KS3

This subject performs extremely well at the school; by Year 9 end of Key Stage the percentage of learners are outperforming the schools within Blaenau-Gwent and Wales.  At KS3 our learners experience the full flavour of ICT and the subject delivers a broad and exciting curriculum covering the following areas:

• Communicating Information which gives students hands on experience to effectively use Multimedia, DTP and word processing software to create, organise, develop and refine their ideas and information. An email account is given to all students in order to send/receive files electronically.
• Information Handling gives students the opportunity to create their own database in order to interrogate the data in order to follow particular lines of enquiry.
• Modelling Data gives students the opportunity to design and create their own spreadsheet model and to interrogate/test the effect of changing data.
• Computing has recently been introduced to students at Key Stage Three and this will involve writing programs using the popular Scratch program and a second more formal language i.e. Python. This will give students the opportunity to sample programming and to take it as an option at GCSE.
• The world of ICT gives students a sense of awareness of how ICT is used in the real world and takes every opportunity to discuss issues such as Social Network Sites and ICT and the Law.

Year 9

This academic year the Science and Technology Faculty will be delivering the accredited qualification ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) to all Year 9 all students during ICT lessons.

• The ECDL has been designed by the BCS (British Computer Society and is a worldwide recognised qualification; it is graded and gains school performance points.
• ECDL is evidence of the digital literacy skills of our learners; skills that are increasingly key to success in our technology-dependent society
• Learners with improved computer skills enjoy an enriched educational experience and are better prepared for life, work and further learning.
• Tried, tested and trusted - over 2.5 million people have taken ECDL in the UK. ECDL attracts up to 58 performance points and is equivalent to a GCSE B grade.