ICT

ICT at Colchester High School

The ICT department at Colchester High School offers a modern, vibrant and interactive approach to learning and prides itself in providing its pupils the best in quality; both in terms of up to date courses and lesson resources as well as excellent teacher expertise. 

All pupils, from Reception to Year 9, have at least one hour of discreet ICT every week.  This ensures that all of our learners leave Colchester High School with the ICT skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to fully participate in the modern world of work and leisure; as well as providing them with the skills they need to fully access and process information arising in their day-to-day living.  

With a history of outstanding results, the department is always striving to improve the service it offers to its pupils and parents and to this its aims are:

• To develop learners’ full potential by using ICT as a medium for thinking and as a tool to develop and form thinking across the whole curriculum and to improve the processing and presentation of information specific to each department.
• To encourage a pro active relationship between school, pupil and parents, fostering a positive attitude to technology both at home and school.
• To help equip each pupil with the best possible and widest range of communication skills in preparation for their life beyond school.
• To encourage pupils to become capable, safe users of ICT and to remain safe online and in ‘cyberspace’. 

ICT courses offered at Colchester High School

Years 1 – 9 follow the National Curriculum program of study for ICT; with lessons delivered that cover each strand and sub-strand of the National Framework.  Each strand has been developed to allow learners to access skills and understanding in: Finding Information, Developing Ideas, Communicating Information and Evaluating Work through the use of Information and Communications Technology.   Assessing pupil progress is an integral part of every ICT lesson; however, pupils develop projects which also allow their teacher to make formative judgments about their attainment.  These judgments supports the transfer of meaningful information at key transitional points, e.g. from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3.

Year 10 – 11 pupils have the option to choose to study for a GCSE in ICT.  From September 2010 pupils will be following the new ICT GCSE 2010 program of study.  They will have the opportunity to explore the challenges and potential implications of their actions in our ever changing digital environment, with the new specification allowing pupils to tap into their ability to master and adapt technology to suit their own needs.  This qualification enables learners who are living in a digital world to become digitally literate by studying two units of study; ‘Living in a Digital World’ and ‘Using Digital Tools’.  The course is assessed both internally through a practical program of study using  ‘Controlled Assessment’ methods (worth 60% of their end of course grade) and an externally assessed unit using an end of unit examination (worth 40% of their end of course grade).

The ICT Department at Colchester High School is very proud of the progress pupils make in ICT and is committed to providing a learning environment for every pupil that allows them to reflect critically on their own and others’ use of ICT whilst adopting safe, secure and responsible practices.