Year 7 and 8 students have been working hard on the iDEA Award. Students started working on this award prior to closure and were really enjoying it. The award is backed by some of the biggest names in technology and business such as Microsoft, Cisco, IBM and Barclays. 

Students are working on three different types of award: Bronze, Silver and the forthcoming Gold award. iDEA is the digital and enterprise equivalent of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Bronze is beginner level, Silver intermediate and Gold advanced.

In order to gain the award, students have to complete a range of badges in different topics such as social networking, computer technology, computer networking, games design and graphics.

Once the students have gained the necessary points to get the award they are working on, they are sent a certificate from Buckingham Palace. This certificate is recognised by employers and colleges around the country.

So far, 19 Year 7 students have gained the Bronze award and 3 have gained the Silver award while school has been closed. In addition to this, there are over 25 year 7 students who are within 50 points of getting Bronze.

In Year 8, 30 students have gained the Bronze award and 9 have gained the Silver award while school has been closed.

Well done to all involved.

You can find out more information about the IDEA award by visiting their website: https://idea.org.uk/

Year 9 students have been working on their “Take Away tasks”. These have required students to complete two activities a week based on topics within the Computer Science curriculum. These topics include programming, graphics design and computer hardware. 

There have been some fantastic examples of work submitted by students over the previous weeks. Check these out!

In addition to these tasks, students have been working on their iDEA awards. 

So far, 114 Year 9 students have gained the Bronze award and 41 have gained the Silver award.

Last week, all students were asked via SMHW and email to sign up to the Amazon Young Engineer programme. This programme is aimed at supporting students in the learning of programming and software design. 
 

Year 10 business students have been working on the final units of their Year 10 curriculum. These two topics are about the types of training involved (on the job, off the job) in the work place and the laws (Equality Act) which business and employees have to follow. 

The department has run a number of live and pre-recorded lessons to support student progress while at home. Work based on these lessons has been sent to students and then returned via email to their teacher. To ensure that the impact of closure is as minimal as possible, students have been given packs of exam questions to practice using the different techniques learnt in lessons such as BLT. 

Examples of some of the work returned have been are below:

In the next few weeks, students will be given their end of Year 10 exam paper to complete and return to their teacher. This exam includes questions from Unit 1,2 and 3.

Students are encouraged to complete the practice questions given prior to closure so that they know how to tackle each question. 

Year 10 CS students have continued to work on their GCSE topics using Microsoft OneNote and the Craig 'n' Dave resources. They have been covering a number of topics including Number Representation and Ethics. Students have been accessing the excellent videos provided by Craig 'n' Dave in addition to teacher direction to produce some fantastic work in the same style they would have done so in the classroom. 

Students are encouraged to continue practicing their Python coding by using the resources given to them and also CodeCombat.

Please ensure students are regularly using the Craig 'n' Dave YouTube channel (OCR SPEC).

Prior to closure students where given a selection of exam questions to work through and return to their teacher. These packs covered the weaker areas of their November and February PPE exams. It is important that students complete these activities as it will support them in their Post 16 studies. 

Students have completed the content of their courses and should be using this time to solidify learning. 

Students in both subjects have access to all their work either though OneNote for CS or their class books for Business. Students are encouraged to complete identification of their weaker areas and use the CGP or official revision guides to consolidate learning. 

Please contact your teacher if you need support on these areas.