Year 11 are currently completing their final 10-hour practical exam. They have completed the first 5 hours and produced some detailed plans ready for the final creation of their media product. They will need to arrange the assets that they wish to include in the final product. Well done with the preparation stage and good luck for the final 5 hours of exam!
Mrs Bennett
Curriculum Leader for C.A.T. Faculty
Year 11 have completed their final mock exams and there are some pleasing results. The students have been spending the time learning about the practical paper and how to answer some of the challenging questions. All students are working hard and hope they continue this hard work over the next few weeks in preparation for the final GCSEs.
Mrs Bennett
Curriculum Leader for C.A.T. Faculty
KS3 Computing lessons have had a focus around online safety and looking at persuasive design used in app creation. We discussed a range of persuasive design features that companies use and how these impact on their lives. The students then selected a few of these features and designed an app. They then presented these to their peers. There have been some incredible ideas.
Year 7 are starting to explore a different way of programming using BBC Micro:Bits. This unit has seen them complete a range of challenges and games using the Micro:Bit website. They can experiment with this at home using the BBC Microbit website.
Year 8 are exploring a different way of programming using BBC Micro:Bits. This unit builds from what they have learnt in year 7 about Micro:Bits by incorporating Python programming language to add challenge.
Year 9 are learning about computational thinking and understanding how programs and computers think and work. They will be exploring flowcharts, pseudocode and then looking and creating mini-programs based on the flowcharts and pseudocode into python. This will give the students an insight into GCSE Computer Science.
Mrs Bennett
Curriculum Leader for the C.A.T. Faculty
Year 11 are also currently completing their final 10-hour practical exam; the first 5 hours are on Thursday 21st March. They are in the process of producing some detailed plans ready for the final creation of their media product. They will need to arrange the assets that they wish to include in the final product. Well done with the preparation stage and good luck for the final exam of the course!
Mrs Bennett
Curriculum Leader for the C.A.T. Faculty
Year 11 are preparing for their final mock exams before the real GCSEs in the Summer. The students have been spending the time learning about the practical paper and how to answer some of the challenging questions. All students are working hard and I hope they continue this hard work over the next few months.
Mrs Bennett
Curriculum Leader for the C.A.T. Faculty
To follow on from their assemblies, KS3 Computing lessons have had a focus around online safety and have been looking at persuasive design used in app creation. We have discussed a range of persuasive design features that companies use and how these impact on the students lives. The students have then designed an app and selected a few of these features. They then presented these to their peers. There have been some incredible ideas!
In Year 7, the students have been learning all about spreadsheets and will be in the process of creating a spreadsheet for a specific scenario that needs to include a range of formula’s and charts. The students will complete this independently and will be using the skills taught in the previous lessons to do this. They will be moving onto exploring a different way of programming using BBC Micro:Bits. This unit has seen them complete a range of challenges and games using the Micro:Bit website.
Year 8 are exploring a different way of programming using BBC Micro:Bits. This unit builds from what they have learnt in year 7 and they have now incorporated Python programming language to add to their challenge.
Year 9 will be learning about computational thinking and understanding how programs and computers think and work. They will be exploring flowcharts, pseudocode and then looking and creating mini-programs based on the flowcharts and pseudocode into python. This will give the students an insight into GCSE Computer Science.
Mrs Bennett
Curriculum Leader for the C.A.T. Faculty
All students have taken part in Safer Internet Day. Each year there is a theme for the day, this year’s theme was, ‘Imagine a world without the internet. How would your life change?’
The students have had assemblies delivered to them to make them think about how the internet has changed over the last 10 years and what new technology has emerged within the life time of the students. They have also thought about what they do in their social time now life has changed due to the internet and what technology is available. Some examples are, what they spend their money on now and what decisions they might make in life regarding their own future. We’ve talked about their online presence and them being mini social influencers. We have challenged the students to look at how they use the internet and their devices and shown them how they can be used in a positive way.
We feel it is important that the students actively have conversations and be open about what they are doing and seeing online.
Mrs Bennett,
Curriculum Leader for the C.A.T. Faculty
Key Stage 3 Computing
Last half term saw KS3 Computing investigating and using a variety of programming codes ranging from Scratch to Python. The students have learnt some basic python programming skills to build on their scratch programming knowledge. This half term sees the students learning all about spreadsheets. They will create a spreadsheet for a specific scenario that needs to include a range of formulas and charts. The students will complete this independently and will be using the skills taught in the previous lessons to do this.
Year 8 students have been building their knowledge about binary and have explored the world of programming by using python. This has developed their knowledge from Year 7. They have learnt about algorithms and flowcharts, using Flowol to create some flowcharts for different mimics, exploring inputs and outputs. The students are now learning about the history of computing and how the technology has developed over the years. They are also exploring the future of technology.
Year 9 students have been learning about advanced programming skills using python. Students have recalled their previous learning from Year 8 with some of the basics and have now moved on to discover functions, loops and more advanced programming skills. All of this is giving them a taste of GCSE Computer Science. They have also learnt about the components within a Computer, how they work and they have explored the ethics that surround Computer Science technology. The students are now learning about the history of computing, how the technology has developed over the years and are exploring how it may be in the future.
GCSE Computer Science
Year 11 are exploring a range of practical programming skills in preparation for the practical exam paper. Revision sessions will be Mondays 3:20pm until 4pm (Theory) and Thursday 3:20pm until 4pm (Practical) in room 50.
The year 10 students have had a fantastic term and have been learning the theory behind computers. They are starting to understand how they work and how the components all work together. They have also been learning about data representation including binary, hexadecimal and two’s complement.
BTEC Creative Media Production
Year 11 are now starting to prepare for Component 3, the 10-hour practical exam. The brief will be issued on 15th January and the students will then be researching and developing mock ideas for their final products.
Mrs Bennett
Curriculum Leader for the C.A.T. Faculty
Working in the creative media industry isn’t just about inspiration; it’s a hands-on experience involving practical processes, skills, and techniques. The industry demands professionals who can craft products that not only captivate their audience but are also aligned with a specific purpose. This is what year 11 have been trying to do as they have been working on their creative media assignment.
They have had the chance to specialise in one of three media sectors: audio/moving image, print, or interactive design. Through lessons and workshops, they have honed their practical skills and techniques tailored to their chosen sector.
They then have begun to apply these skills to the entire spectrum of media production— from pre-production to production and post-production processes.
The ability to learn and apply new practical skills through experimentation, reflection, and refinement is a cornerstone of success in the creative industries.
Throughout this half term they have not only created media products but also reviewed their progress continually. We await the results of this component from the exam board.
Beyond the technical skills, they have also developed transferable skills such as teamwork, time management, and communication—crucial assets for their journey into further study and employment.
Well done, Year 11!
Year 7 have been look at creating games by coding these in Scratch. The students coded a sprite which could have been a ball, a monkey or any object they like using ‘jigsaw pieces’. They have been looking at the what each colour of the jigsaw pieces represent and how they affect their sprite:
Motion – Blue
Sensing – Aqua
Operators – Green
Variables – Orange
Pupils then used these jigsaw pieces to put them together to control their sprite and make it do what they want to. Below is a piece of code that controls a ball which bounces about and when clicked, increases the score. If the ball hits the floor, the game ends.
Mr Cafferkey
