A Level in Information and Communication TechnologyWhat will you learn?
There are a wide variety of topics studied in this class. In the first year students learn:
- How to create a variety of documents for business and personal use, including how to use presentation software, desktop publishing and word processing.
- They also learn some general principles of design which can be applied in many contexts.
- How to design spreadsheets to meet the needs of a customer. Students will create spreadsheets which automate activities so that the user does not need to be an expert.
- How ICT is used in business situations.
In the second year we get to choose which units we offer. Units that have been offered in the past include:
- Web publishing
- Computer programming
- Computer artwork
- Multimedia design
- Training ICT users
- Database design
The units that will be offered for your group will depend upon the interests of the class and the expertise of the staff. We will make every effort to give students some choice and allow them to pursue personal interests.
Five out of the six units (currently) are portfolio based, and all students have their work entered at the same time. This means that sticking to deadlines is particularly important in ICT.
Results
Our first two cohorts achieved excellent results, as you can see to the right. A number of them have gone on to pursue ICT-related degrees at University. We anticipate even better results from our current cohort.
Quality Teaching
During our most recent Ofsted inspection our department was praised for the teaching and learning that were taking place at A-level. Our results are a testimonial to this.
ICT is the future
Everyone is aware of the fact that computers are everywhere and are affecting most aspects of life. It will be very difficult to find a job that does not demand good ICT skills in the future.
Some jobs will demand that you be able to design new ICT systems, while most jobs will expect you to be a sophisticated user of ICT systems. This class will give you the background for both sets of requirements. Students will design systems for others to use, but will also be building up excellent all-round computer skills at the same time.