ICT and COMPUTING

Lawrence Sheriff School, as might be expected from a specialist Mathematics and Computing college, has a very successful ICT and Computing department. Our aim is for pupils to use ICT appropriately and independently across the whole curriculum as well as in their own time. Both teaching and support staff endeavour to work together bringing their wide range of skills and strengths to support each other and the boys in a friendly and relaxed yet purposeful environment.

STAFF

Teaching Team

Mrs Ann Simmonds (Head of Department)

Mrs Sarah Gainsbury

Mrs Julie Woodhouse (with responsibility for staff ICT training)

Mrs Christine Joliffe

Support Team

Mrs Maggi Armitage (Virtual Learning Manager)

Dr Regan Costello (IT Manager)

Mr John Seymour (Senior IT Technician)

Mrs Florence Ravenhall (Teaching Assistant)

Mrs Marie Aldous (Teaching Assistant)

Mrs Sarah Green (Teaching Assistant)

Miss Sukhvinder Sehmbi (IT Technician)

Miss Areeg Saeed (IT Technician)

FACILITIES

The school has five rooms of computer suites, a study room in the Sixth Form Centre equipped with networked PCs and there is a bank of resources including laptops and projectors which are bookable by departments. One room is largely dedicated to teaching of Modern Foreign languages and another is used extensively by the Technology Department. Most lower school lessons take place in L1 and L2, each of which contains up to 23 networked workstations as well as ports for adding extra laptops as necessary. The Sixth Form block contains a well-equipped computer suite mainly in use for A level classes. Black-and-white and colour laser printers, scanners and ceiling-mounted data projectors are available in all computer suites. Teachers are introducing the use of tablet PCs into their lessons for teaching and learning alongside the Interactive whiteboards which have been in place for some time.

CURRICULUM

All pupils in years 7 to 11 have timetabled ICT lessons.

At Key Stage 3 pupils are taught for one lesson a week in groups of 15 or 16. The department bases its teaching on the QCA scheme of work and Sample Teaching Units, which are tailored to suit the interests and abilities of the pupils. Lessons may be supported by Teaching Assistants enabling us to provide challenge for the most able and support for any boys who are less confident in the use of ICT.

In 2004 we introduced the European Computer Driving Licence as a self-study extension activity for a small group of Year 9 students. This provides another opportunity to extend the gifted and talented students at Lawrence Sheriff School .

In Years 10 and 11 all boys follow the OCR GCSE course aiming at entry at the Higher Level. This course was introduced for all in 2003 following success in the GCSE Short Course for those boys who had previously taken it as an option.

Options in the Sixth Form include AQA Computing at both AS and A level and Information and Communication Technology (AQA) as an Advanced Vocational Certificate Single Award. The former course is suited to those wishing to follow a traditional academic A level and the latter offers a more practically based course, being assessed largely by portfolio.

DESTINATIONS

Many of our past students have gone on to further study in a range of Computing based courses, from Business ICT and web-design, through to Computer Science and destinations include Warwick , Nottingham and Birmingham Universities . Some of our former students have come back to join us as technicians as part of their studies.

EXTRA CURRICULAR

As part of our development as a result of Specialist status, the school appointed a Virtual Learning Manager in 2003, and this has led to work in a number of exciting projects within Lawrence Sheriff, our partner schools and the wider community. Our students are able to become involved in a lunchtime system and control club or Visual Basic programming club. A regular computer hardware workshop is planned for the near future and opportunities arranged for students to share and exchange their computing expertise. This September fifteen students from years 9 and 10 began an extra curricular AS level in Music Technology. It is hoped that this can be further developed once this pilot scheme has been completed.

A programme linking students to mentor individuals from the wider community who wish to master aspects of ICT such as the internet, Microsoft Word or Excel is to commence soon.

We have strong links with a partner schools and we are able to offer and provide ICT support and expertise in areas that they identify. A series of Saturday ICT workshops for Year 6 students from our partner schools began in the summer term 2004 with a morning of ‘System and Control'. We are building up a library of equipment that can be ‘loaned out' to our partner schools.

It is hoped that we will be able to form further links with the business community. Already ICT teaching-staff have been able to experience ‘ICT in the workplace' thanks to local business and industries offering ‘teacher work experience placements'.