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Information
and Communication Technology
at Nonsuch High School for Girls
The ICT
curriculum and many useful resources are available here
for members of the Nonsuch community. (Login required, e-mail
the Web Master
if you do not know your authentication details).
Background
"ICT
has enormous potential not just for a National Curriculum.
It will change the way we learn as well as the way we work."
Chris Yapp, ICL Fellow for Lifelong Learning.
"The modern world requires new skills. Understanding ICT
and, more importantly, being able to apply it to the problems
we face is one of the most important. Increasingly ICT will
be vital for our individual prospects and for our economy's
future."
Lord Dennis Stevenson, Prime Minister's Adviser
on ICT and Education.
"ICT expands horizons by shrinking worlds."
David Brown, Chairman, Motorola Ltd.
"With scientific method, we took things apart to see how they
work. Now with computers we can put things back together to
see how they work, by modelling complex, interrelated processes,
even life itself. This is a new age of discovery, and ICT
is the gateway."
Douglas Adams, Author.
As these quotes illustrate, ICT is a tool which we should
all understand and use. At Nonsuch High School for Girls ICT
provision has developed rapidly, with expanding facilities
and teaching courses, allowing us to give our girls this increasingly
essential tool.
Our Facilities
We have almost 180 modern PCs on a site-wide network, managed
by two full-time support staff. Students have access to digital
cameras and scanners, networked colour printers and broadband
Internet. There are digital projectors and interactive white-boards
for teachers to use to enhance lessons. Increasingly, departments
use curriculum software in their teaching and make use of
these facilities to stimulate learning.
The ICT Curriculum Key Stage 3
All girls in KS3 have discrete ICT lessons, taught by specialist
ICT teachers, as well as ‘cross-curricular’ ICT, where they
may develop and use their skills in other subjects.
Through Key Stage 3 we aim to develop pupils to become increasingly
independent, discerning users of ICT. They:
•develop an ability to judge when and how to use ICT
•become able to make judgements about the quality and reliability
of the products they have developed
•engage in increasingly complex tasks with a clear focus,
efficiency and rigour.
By the end of year 9 pupils are able to work autonomously
with a range if ICT applications, using them to produce or enhance
work, to research and investigate and to develop knowledge and
understanding.
Key Stage 4
All girls in KS4 have discrete ICT lessons, taught by specialist
ICT teachers.
At Key Stage 4 girls opt to take either a ‘Full’ or a ‘Short
Course’ GCSE.
ICT is a theoretical and practical subject but 60% of the GCSE
course is assessed by practical project work. Much of the theoretical
work is best understood through a practical context. The majority
of teaching time is therefore spent on practical tasks: skill
development and assessments. Some theoretical aspects are discussed
in class and theory homework is set each lesson, often requiring
independent research and extended writing.
IVth Form
AS/A Level ICT is an increasingly popular option in the VIth
form. We also offer ICT Key Skills in year 13 to all girls who
do hot have a Full GCSE in ICT. The A-level Specification is
composed of six modules, covering:
the nature and structure of information and explain how information
and communication technology can be used to manage and manipulate
it;
the characteristics of information systems (hardware, software
and communications) which allow effective solutions to be achieved;
the need for and the use of various forms of data organisation
and processing to support the information requirements of a
particular application;
the systematic development of quality solutions to problems
and the techniques appropriate for implementing such solutions;
the institutional, economic, legal, spiritual, moral, ethical
and social consequences of current uses of information and communication
technology;
the role of information and communications technology in organisations.
Extra-Curricular
ICT All ICT suites at Nonsuch High School for Girls remain open
at break, lunch time and after school, giving girls the opportunity
to make use of these facilities for school work. The IT teaching
staff are available to support GCSE students after school in
Thursdays and Fridays.
The Developing Department
We are currently undergoing expansion of ICT resources to increase
capacity in our computer suites, and to widen the facilities
available to other departments. This considerable investment
illustrates commitment of Nonsuch to ICT.
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