Opportunity for All

ICT Department

The aims of ICT in Heolddu

Today’s students have an ever increasing awareness of the importance of information technology on their lives.  They see computer control in their TV; they see computers calculating the bills at supermarket check-outs; they use computerised games for recreation and see computer workstations in almost every office and place of work.

Here at Heolddu Comprehensive School we seek to capitalise upon the natural fascination that computers hold for our pupils and develop in them the skills required to make all aspects of information technology accessible and understandable.  We have a “rolling programme” of investment in modern computer technology, which has led to the school having five dedicated ICT suites, a Success Maker room and a Technology suite of computers.  The opportunities for innovative teaching have increased with the majority of classrooms being equipped with interactive whiteboards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Our programme of study centres around two main approaches: formal teaching of ICT skills to give all pupils the confidence to use the facilities available, and cross-curricular use of ICT to ensure that the skills are applied in context to all subject areas.  This strategy is consistent with the latest requirements of the National Curriculum which expects formal development of ICT skills during the first three years of secondary educations (Key Stage 3).  As a school we have made GCSE ICT a requirement for all pupils, allowing the development and application of ICT skills in Key Stage 4.  ‘A’ level ICT is a very popular course with pupils in Heolddu with large pupil numbers opting for this subject.

Throughout their years at Heolddu all pupils received ICT lessons in which they become familiar with the equipment and software in use throughout the school.  Pupils learn how to use computers for presenting information in written or visual form, how to analyse numerical data and generate graphs, and how to retrieve information held on databases.  In parallel with these ICT lessons, other subject teachers regularly book their classes into the well-equipped ICT suites so that computer applications can be used to facilitate the teaching of their particular subject area.

With enthusiastic teaching and a policy of continual investment in upgrading equipment to the latest standards, pupils at Heolddu Comprehensive School can expect to be well prepared for the computer rich environment that is becoming part of their lives to an ever increasing extent.

Examinations Success!

The results days in August were a time of great pleasure for both students and teachers of ICT and a reward for all of the hard-work put in by all concerned.
Year 13 achieved a 100% pass rate at 'A' level, for the third year running, with 92.3% gaining A - C grades.  Congratulations to Rachael Roach, Laura Carter, Liam Vaughan and Jason Prosser who all achieved A grades.
Year 12 also achieved a 100% pass rate at 'AS' level, with 80% achieving A - C grades.  Congratulations to Keri Dacey, Gareth Griffiths, Danielle Pennington and Kaylee Duggan on gaining A grades.  Twenty-one pupils have now continued into year 13 to complete their 'A' level.
Year 11 also produced a very pleasing set of results with 73% achieving A* - C grades.  120 pupils were entered for the examination this year, and it was a great pleasure for the staff to find out that 67% of pupils had exceeded their target grades.  Special congratulations to Necole Ball, Adam Bookless, Gareth Davies, Elizabeth Dunford, Alex Heatley, Sarah Parry, Georgia Sanders and Daniel Thomas on their A* grades.

A new development for 2008 was to enter pupils for GCSE Business and Communications System.  There are strong links between this course and our usual ICT GCSE and we were delighted that the twenty-eight pupils entered returned a 93% A* - C pass rate.  This is a very promising start and we shall definitely be entering a lot more pupils for this qualification in 2009.

This year the department will be endeavouring to match or improve the standards that it has set over the last two years with regards to examination performance and raising of pupil attainment.

Department Staff

  • Mr M Windsor (Head of Department and ICT Co-ordinator)
  • Mrs L Prosser (Assistant Headteacher)
  • Mr M Cleverley (Assistant Headteacher)
  • Mr T Lancaster
  • Miss L Watkins
  • Miss M Stanitzke
  • Mrs S Dean
  • Miss J Price

ICT Department Wiki

We have now set up a wiki for use by pupils where they are able to find useful resources for both GCSE and 'A' level revision.  Copies of the examination specifications can be downloaded and links to free software are available.  These materials are availabe both in school and at home over the Internet.  To visit the ICT wiki click here.

Last Updated: 25/01/2010 21:19:25 By Mike Cleverley