Throughout their school career, pupils are given the opportunity to use ICT in a variety of ways. This includes: research; presentation; group work; web design; communication; data handling; modelling; measurement and control, and creation of computer software.

STAFF

• Miss J Richmond         Head of Department
• Mrs J Temple                

FACILITIES AND RESOURCES

In addition to the computers, other resources available to students include scanners and printers (colour or black and white). Other equipment eg digital cameras, digital projectors etc can also be booked for use.

CURRICULUM

Junior forms are introduced to using computers, becoming familiar with the school system and MS Office. They spend time developing basic word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation and Internet skills.

As pupils progress through the school, they are offered a range of computing subjects. At GCSE and A-Level, these subjects include:

• Information and Communication Technology
• Business and Communication Systems
• Computing
• Clait Plus

EXTRA CURRICULAR

The department runs a Computer Club every day at lunchtime.  During this time pupils can carry out computer related tasks, for example: carry out research for homeworks or coursework, complete computer tasks for various subject areas or communicate with other computer enthusiasts.

Competitions include:

Irish Schools' Programming Competition

This is an annual computer programming competition held at Dublin City University, DCU, sponsored by DCU and IBM Ireland.  The goals of the competition are

• To encourage and reward young programmers
• To promote contacts among programmers in Ireland
• To select a team for the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).

The British Informatics Olympiad

The British Informatics Olympiad (BIO) is an annual competition in computer programming for secondary schools and sixth form colleges. Prizes include an expenses-paid trip to the prestigious International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).

Axios Awards

These Awards are a major initiative to encourage more girls to study and take up careers in IT and tackle a huge gender imbalance in the industry. Less than one quarter of UK computing professionals are women. Girls sitting the single GCSE in ICT and those taking ICT and Computing 'A' Levels are automatically entered in the competition.

The Axios 'A' Star Awards are supported by Government, the British Computer Society, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the six leading UK exam awarding bodies and leading commercial organisations including Accenture, IBM and Cisco Systems. The media sponsor is top trade magazine Computing.

For general information on the world of IT and Computing go to:

http://www.computing.co.uk
http://www.itweek.co.uk