Head of Department: Mr Nicholas Tedds

The ability to effectively use ICT, and have the opportunity to be imaginative and enterprising, is now a basic requirement in every child’s education. In tomorrow’s dynamic and technological world it is a necessity. St Paul’s has invested substantially to ensure that our pupils have the opportunities to meet these challenges. There are five dedicated computer rooms and a further five classrooms within the department where laptops may be used to provide easy access for every child to an up-to-date network. The hardware, software and creative resources are constantly being added to and renewed in a rolling programme.

We believe that each pupil is equally important and that all pupils should be encouraged to achieve their potential. To this end we have dedicated ICT lessons from the beginning of Year 7, which introduces them to the school network. Each pupil has a personal area on the school system and their pass-worded access is their responsibility. Access to research tools is available to all pupils and we aim to develop responsible attitudes to the use of such resources.

A flexible ICT curriculum at Key Stage 3 allows pupils to develop their learning in a number of ways during Years 7, 8 and 9. They will continue to improve their technical skills in office-based applications, but emphasis is put on the creative process of ICT, with pupils learning to plan their use of ICT for a particular audience, and then to analyse, evaluate and improve their work on an ongoing basis. Pupils are also encouraged to develop learning habits that can be applied to many different situations across the curriculum and away from the school environment.

At Key Stage 4, pupils can opt for an Applied GCSE course in Business Studies or the Certificate in Digital Applications (CiDA). Both of these courses are the equivalent of 2 GCSE’s. The department also offers BTEC First and Level 1 Diploma courses in Business, and the OCR National in ICT, for those pupils who would benefit from an alternative approach to learning to that offered by the traditional GCSE curriculum. If they do not choose one of these courses, it is likely that pupils will have a single lesson throughout Years 10 and 11 developing their ICT skills with the aim of achieving an Award in Digital Applications (AiDa). Through all of these courses, pupils are developing the knowledge and skills to help them in the wider world.

In the Sixth form the students have the opportunity to follow Business, Economics and Information and Communication Technology at Advanced Level. We also offer a BTEC First Diploma in Business. These courses prepare pupils for Higher Education courses, further training or employment in related organisations.