Technology is changing the lives of everyone. In Computing, we equip students to participate in a rapidly changing world where work and leisure activities are increasingly transformed by technology. We enable students to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information. We also focus on developing the knowledge necessary for students to be able to use information in a discriminating and effective way. The Computing curriculum covers three main areas: Digital Literacy, Computer Science, and Information Technology. Through these students will be introduced to programming, algorithms, some more complex elements of software packages and an understanding of computer hardware and how it works.

KS3

In Key Stage 3, students will design, use, and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems. They will learn 2 programming languages: Python (text based) and Kodu (visual block based). Students will understand how computers work by looking at the hardware that make up computer systems. They will begin to understand how various types of instructions are stored and executed in computer systems, and how they can be used to represent images, music, and text. Students will undertake creative projects that involve selecting, using, and combining multiple applications to achieve challenging goals. This includes collecting and analysing data and meeting the needs of known users. They will understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly, and securely: including protecting their online identity and privacy; recognising inappropriate content; contact and conduct; and knowing how to report concerns.

In Year 7 students will study E-safety, Computer crime and cyber security, Spreadsheets (data modelling) and Control systems with Flowol. In year 8 students will study Understanding Computers (what makes up the hardware and software of a computer system), Databases (how data is managed, stored, and quickly accessed by organisations), Introduction to coding through Kodu (visual programming language). In year 9 students will study Data modelling and analysis, Data representation (how data is represented by a computer system), Computer Networks and Python (coding) the next steps.

KS4

We offer two courses at Key Stage 4 in Computer Science and Information Technology so that we can accommodate the needs and interests of all students. Computer Science is a discipline that seeks to understand and explore the world around us, both natural and artificial, in computational terms. Information Technology deals with the purposeful application of computer systems to solve real-world problems, including issues such as the identification of business needs, the specification and installation of hardware and software, and the evaluation of usability.

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