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ICT and Business
Our young people need a knowledge and understanding of digital technology. To be successful, they need to develop an awareness of how organisations communicate and operate to retain their competitive edge. We aim to ensure that all our pupils can use ICT securely, creatively and independently, and have the ability and confidence to remain up-to-date with future developments in technology.
For pupils who wish to pursue a career in ICT, we offer a comprehensive range of vocational courses which will enable them to become lead practitioners in their chosen field.
ICT
Information Communication Technology is ever changing, and impacts on every aspect of young peoples' lives. We aim to prepare students with skills that enable them to flourish in an environment dominated by technology. To that end, students are issued their own email address and user area on the school network as soon as they arrive in year 7, and they use these facilities to communicate and store their work.
In years 7 to 9 pupils have one hour of ICT per week, covering various topics over periods of roughly six weeks. Well known applications such as spreadsheets, databases and presentations are covered, where possible, in theme based topics which cover the requirements of the National Curriculum. As pupils progress, they cover more innovative topics, such as Digital Imaging, Web Design/Programming and Video Editing. Wherever possible, students are encouraged to use exciting multimedia techniques to ensure their work is suitable and accessible for the intended audience.
In years 10 and 11 a wide range of courses are on offer. For the technically minded, options include the Software Design course (iPRO) from OCR, and Networking for Home and Small Businesses from the Cisco Networking Academy which leads to an industry recognised qualification. Most students will go on to use ICT in one form or another, and for these students we run the DiDA suite of qualifications (Diploma in Digital Applications) where students can achieve up to two GCSE’s in units such as Multimedia and Enterprise.
Business
The world around us is changing. Whatever career people progress into, it will be a business of some sort. The pupils have access to excellent ICT facilities to help develop presentation skills as well as enabling them to ensure their assignments are fit for purpose.
The faculty offers a BTEC First (Level 2) Business. This is an exciting and dynamic course that opens your eyes to the world of business. You will study 3 units, which are assessed by practical assignments related to business situations.
- Unit 1 – Exploring Business Purposes
- Unit 5 – People in Organisations
- Unit 9 – Exploring Business Enterprise
Each unit has been designed to focus on areas that are important to the success of an organisation. Unit 1 introduces pupils to the basic concepts of business and allows them to explore the different types of ownership and understand the importance of aims and objectives and how these help focus a business organisation to succeed.
The second unit studied focuses very much on recruitment and the application process. Pupils will be taught the importance of the recruitment and will have the opportunity to go through the application process cumulating with an interview for a job.
The final unit is a very practical unit where pupils will create a business plan for a business idea. This will be presented to a ‘Board’ to assess the likelihood of success. In this unit pupils will be encouraged to be creative to think of products or services they think are required to make life easier for people and that will be profitable.
