Analysis by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT found that entries in England to take Computer Science A level were up by nearly 18% on last year.

Though there are many routes to a tech career, BCS said the subject’s growing popularity was important to the pipeline of talent working in areas like digital health and climate change.

BCS’ study of Ofqual’s provisional data shows that 15,210 students are sitting Computer Science A Level in England this year, up from 12,930 in 2021. This rise of 17.6% is the largest increase of any A Level subject.

It is the highest number of entrants in England ever and a 57% increase over the last five years, BCS, the professional body for information technology, added.

Demand for computer science is rising across higher education too, with BCS’ analysis earlier this year showing applications to study computer science degrees also rising by 13% – the biggest increase of any UK university subject.

Dr Bill Mitchell OBE, Director of Policy at BCS, said: “An A-level in Computer Science helps to develop the thinking skills needed to solve the big challenges facing society, whether that’s in healthcare, climate change, or the digital divide.

“Thanks to initiatives like the National Centre for Computing Education, we’ve got the highest number ever of students ever taking A-level Computer Science, which is excellent for these students and excellent for the rest of us who’ll benefit when they take those advanced skills into their further education and their jobs.”

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, is one of the three consortium partners which run the NCCE, alongside the Raspberry Pi Foundation and STEM Learning. The NCCE is funded by the Department for Education and delivers training and resources with the aim of enabling every child in every school in England to have a world-leading computing education.

Entries to GCSE Computing have also steadily increased over the last five years, showing a 9% increase over the last five years, with 79,135 students entering GCSE computing in 2022, up from 72,360 in 2018.

Why is it valuable to children?

Learning to code as a child brings myriad benefits. Most notably the job prospects it offers. The UK tech sector is estimated to be around £540bn and this is only growing. The number of jobs in Manchester alone increased by 164.6% in 2021.

But it’s not just job prospects, understanding code will help them understand how the world around them works. From their smartphone to their wearable tech, hospital machines to gaming apps, once children start seeing how code works in the real world it can help show them how important coding is for our everyday lives.

What skills does it foster?

Even if your child doesn’t go on to work in the STEM industry, learning code can help garner skills that can be applied throughout their whole life.

Critical thinking: Learning code will teach them critical thinking. If they do ‘this’ then ‘that’ happens. As they analyse a situation from all angles, they’ll learn to replicate this skill outside of coding.

Creativity: The only limit to coding is the coder’s imagination. Coding fosters creativity. From creating apps to websites, drones to motion cameras. If they can dream it, they can code it, and create it.

How to get started with coding

Like all new skills, learning as a child is easier than learning as an adult. But the key to getting kids to engage is to make it fun, challenging, but also achievable. Here are some of our top tips to help get you and them started with coding.

Play with them: You don’t need to know how to code to get started. Together you can help them discover coding.  You can start a project together using a Raspberry Pi computer. Designed for beginners, they can help your little one (and you) grow in confidence with coding.

Make it fun: Yes, you’re hoping your children will learn a new skill, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be fun. There are a number of ways you can teach kids about code that don’t involve typing. Scratch, LEGO® WeDo and LEGO® Mindstorms are free programming sites where users can create their own interactive stories, games and animations.

Know when to stop: When teaching your children any new skill, you need to know when to take a break. If your child doesn’t seem that interested in coding, don’t push it. There are a number of other ways you can foster the same skills needed for coding.

These grants will help schools to run CREST Awards with students who are currently underrepresented in science, including those who are from minority ethnic backgrounds, eligible for pupil premium, or based in small and rural schools.

Thanks to the support of UK Research and Innovation, up to £600 will be available for schools that meet the criteria. These grants will assist with CREST registration and resource costs, helping to remove financial barriers that may otherwise prevent students from participating in the Awards.

The CREST Awards aim to inspire young people to think and act like scientists and engineers through energising, curriculum-mapped practical projects that appeal to them. CREST allows students to take the lead on their own investigations and explore the real-life impact of science through a range of topics, from video gaming to the environment, enriching their learning and building their aspirations in science-based subjects and careers.

BSA research has shown that the benefits of CREST are particularly significant for disadvantaged students, with Free School Meals (FSM)-eligible students who completed CREST Silver Awards or higher showing a two-thirds of a grade improvement. FSM-eligible students who completed CREST Silver Awards were also found to be 38 per cent more likely to take a STEM subject at AS level.

Through the underrepresented audiences grants programme, the BSA therefore aims to widen access to CREST’s flexible science-based projects and close attainment gaps, all whilst inspiring young people of all ages and backgrounds to connect with science.

Jane Dowden, Education Innovations Manager at the British Science Association, said: “For many years, certain groups of people have been missing or excluded from STEM subjects. At the British Science Association, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to engage in science and develop a passion for STEM subjects.

“Through outreach programmes like our grants, we can help to increase science-based opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds, so more students can develop a real interest in STEM. By removing financial barriers to science education, we hope to inspire a whole new generation of scientists from all walks of life.”

Applications are now open and the deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday 15 October 2021. More information on eligibility and how to apply can be found at https://help.crestawards.org/portal/en/kb/articles/crest-for-underrepresented-audiences-funding

Classroom sets of physical computing kits are now available for primary and secondary schools to borrow from the NCCE’s national network of 34 Computing Hubs based at schools and colleges across England.

The NCCE Computing Hubs are led by schools and colleges with excellence in teaching computing and support schools and colleges to provide a high-quality computing education to all young people. They provide training courses with generous bursaries; teaching and learning resources; and school-to-school support. From September they now also lend new physical computing kits. Physical computing means interacting with real-world objects, such as lights, buzzers and motors by programming them with a computer. The NCCE Hubs can now offer classroom trays of Crumble, micro:bits, Raspberry Pi Pico or Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ devices to enable children to explore the possibilities.

The NCCE, funded by the Department for Education, aims to enable teachers to deliver a world-class computing education and offers high-quality professional development, curriculum resources and schools-led support.

Dan Elwick, a Programme Manager at the NCCE, said: “This project is such an exciting opportunity to inspire students of all ages to learn about computing in new and engaging ways by providing kit, content and training for free to schools across England that have not had the budget or expertise to teach physical computing before.

“We’d like to thank the Micro:bit Educational Foundation and the Raspberry Pi Foundation for their generous donations and Redfern Electronics, Pimoroni and Gratnells for their support in providing the equipment needed for the kits.”

Joseph Birks, Director of Redfern Electronics, said: “When I was at school, I was lucky to have a teacher who was passionate about exploring new technology. This set me on the path that eventually led me to develop the Crumble. I am thrilled the NCCE is embedding Physical Computing into its curriculum so that even more pupils will have opportunities to get hands-on with technology and be inspired to create the devices of the future.”

Gareth Stockdale, CEO of Micro:bit Educational Foundation, said: “We believe that computational thinking and coding are fundamental skills for the 21st century. That is why we are so pleased to be able to donate BBC micro:bits to the NCCE’s Computing Hubs, supporting teachers to deliver physical computing into the classroom and helping more children to take their first steps to create with technology.”

Each tray contains enough devices for a classroom, along with all the peripherals such as LEDs, motors, wheels, and cables needed to complete units from the NCCE’s Teach Computing Curriculum, designed for children aged from five to 18.

Primary school teacher Suzanne Kennard, from Furneux Pelham in Hertfordshire, had never tried physical computing before. She borrowed a physical computing kit from the NCCE’s London, Hertfordshire and Essex Hub at Saffron Walden County High School.

“As the computing lead in a small school, I am looking to develop and enhance computing across the school,” she said. “I liked the look of the physical computing unit, saw the loan scheme and contacted the Hub.

“We completed most of the sessions from the NCCE’s Teach Computing Curriculum while we had the kit. As my confidence increased, I could set the class challenges to programme colours and sequences. At one point I asked them to make a disco, which wasn’t in the lesson plan! They really benefited from the physical equipment.”

The NCCE has developed new face-to-face courses which support the physical computing kits and introduce the Crumble, micro:bits, and Raspberry Pi Pico. In addition, the NCCE also provides online courses for teachers to develop their physical computing skills. Details of all courses, both face to face and online, are available from Courses – Teach Computing.

To find out more about borrowing a classroom kit for your school, contact your local hub via the Computing Hub homepage at teachcomputing.org/hubs.

With a love of coding, sixteen-year old Jessica started to teach herself to code when she was just seven using the Scratch educational tool for coding before moving on to the high-level and general-purpose programming language Python. During lockdown, Jessica created a Monopoly predictor program, which predicts which housing properties a player is going to land on; basically playing the game itself. She then created a website for her mother’s business Kirkmillan Consulting.

In addition to Jessica’s love of computer science, the engineering scholarship incorporates wider aspects of STEM skill development including coding.

Jessica said, “the Arkwright Scholarship offers me so many opportunities to develop my skills, including Connect Days where I can meet industry professionals, especially women, to ask questions and explore my potential future career opportunities. It’s fun and I’m positioning myself well to secure the ideal job in the future. My particular scholarship is sponsored by cyber security company CrowdStrike who will provide me with a mentor. I have to fit these experiences into my normal school week but it’s definitely helping me to develop a special insight into the industry.

“I’m not interested in developing games; I want to create things that are useful. My first Arkwright virtual event involved developing a cat feeder app; I always forget to feed mine!”

“CrowdStrike is proud to support Jessica as she continues to build her computer science, engineering and coding skills with the help of her mentor from our Engineering & Technology team,” said Colin Black, CrowdStrike Chief Operating Officer and Executive Sponsor of the company’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives. “As the world’s leading cloud-native cybersecurity company, we are committed to making investments in students around the world, particularly those who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields, to improve their access and opportunity to high-quality, high-value learning and development opportunities. Congratulations to Jessica and all Arkwright Engineering Scholarship winners. We look forward to welcoming you to the workforce in the years to come and are excited to see the impact you will have in our industry and beyond.”

Arkwright Engineering Scholarships is the most esteemed scholarship programme of its type in the UK, with over 6,000 Scholarships awarded to date. Run by educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust, the programme is designed to inspire and develop the next generation of future leaders as they continue their journey into the exciting world of engineering. The Scholarships are awarded to hard-working 16 year-olds through a rigorous selection process, providing them with financial support, industry experience and real-world learning opportunities, supporting them through their A levels, Scottish Highers or equivalent qualifications.

Every child from year 2 upwards at Little London Community Primary School will receive a Google Chromebook

As schools return after a six-month hiatus, one Leeds school has used great vision to guarantee access to learning for every child from year 2 and above, some 450 pupils. Little London Community Primary School has taken the bold step of ensuring these children will have their own Google Chromebook and internet access so they are covered for every eventuality.

The scheme is the brainchild of Jill Wood, head teacher at Little London Community Primary School, who recognised that a ground-breaking solution was needed post-lockdown. Little London is an inner-city school of 630 children, where the proportion of disadvantaged pupils is much higher than the national average. Pupils have extremely limited access to technology and the internet outside school. A quarter of families have either no internet access, or limited access through a mobile phone, making home learning impossible.

Jill enrolled the help of local IT provider, Next Generation IT, along with Google Education to provide a ground-breaking solution. Next Generation IT will begin the Google Chromebook rollout for pupils this month. Secure filtered Internet access will be provided to the 150 families currently without. Each family will receive a 4G router with pre-loaded data which will only work with the managed Chromebook supplied.

Jill Wood, head teacher at Little London Community Primary School, said: “We knew we had to deliver a bold solution to ensure that all pupils have access to learning. The return of pupils in September was never going to be straightforward however we have prepared for every eventuality by providing technology that will help all pupils reach their potential.

“Our teachers have done an amazing job of producing top quality lessons that can be delivered online, but children need to be able to access them. We needed to make sure children had their own device that was safe and used purely for education and Steven from Next Generation IT has come up with the perfect solution. The Governors have been extremely supportive of the project and are devoted to ensuring learning for the future. The Chromebooks can be used at home and at school and we see them as an essential tool for learning.”

The school has worked with Next Generation IT for over 15 years and has recently opted for Google Classrooms to be setup through DfE grant funding. This made the Google Chromebook solution the natural choice for the school, with an easy roll out solution for all students, allowing safe and secure access to learning. The Google Chromebook project is being funded by the school.

Steven Lightfoot, director of Next Generation IT, said: “Jill Wood is a true visionary and it has been amazing to work with her on this project. Getting the right support for the children drives Jill every day and we were delighted to partner with Google Education to provide a solution that is truly life-changing for the children.

“We will be supporting the school and families during the rollout and look forward to continuing to work with them closely. It’s great to know that whatever happens with schools as they return to their ‘new normal’, the children of Little London Primary School will be equipped to learn whenever and wherever they need to.”

Next Generation IT is the education support department of Pudsey Computers. The company started 30 years ago and is currently supporting or supplying around 70 schools across Leeds Bradford and Kirklees.

NEC PA703UL features filter-free design and sealed light engine for maintenance-free operation and low lifetime operating costs

NEC Display Solutions Europe today announces the launch of its latest LCD laser projector to feature a sealed optical engine, ensuring 20,000 hours of operation without any lamp exchange required and low lifetime operating costs.

NEC’s new PA703UL laser projector has been engineered for organisations that need reliable, high-performance projection, especially in hard-to-reach areas such as ceilings in university auditoriums, corporate conferencing rooms, museum installations, amusement parks and digital signage applications.

Traditional projectors typically require filter cleaning around every four to six months to maintain performance. For operators with multiple projectors, this can create a significant maintenance burden; for example, one university with a cross-campus estate of 350 projectors can spend almost 500 working / labour hours a year on filter and lamp replacement. This represents a significant drain on overstretched IT resources: not only do filters create significant cost burdens, but there are added costs in terms of device downtime and for hiring access platforms for hard-to-reach installations.

With a completely sealed light engine and filter-free operation, the PA703UL projector requires no lamp replacement and significantly less-frequent cleaning, eliminating device downtime and saving significant costs over the lifetime of the device. The design also ensures stable picture quality, with colour reproduction and brightness output unaffected by incoming dust.

As with all NEC projectors, the PA703UL provides impressively brilliant colour and contrast, with extra-bright 7,000 ANSI lumen output for perfect viewability for large screen presentations and ambient light conditions. Meanwhile, the device features hassle-free remote adjustment with a wide range of interchangeable lenses, motorised lens shift, focus and zoom for fast and simple set-up without the need for physical access.

“Operators in sectors ranging from education to leisure, retail to conferencing are all searching for new ways to deliver stunning, permanently-installed projection capability, but typically the best locations for the projectors themselves are in hard-to-reach places such as ceilings or integrated within a housing,” said Gerd Kaiser, Senior Product Manager, Large Venue and Digital Cinema Projectors at NEC Display Solutions Europe.

“This makes maintenance such as changing lamps or filters a complex, time-consuming and costly job, not to mention the inconvenience of device downtime,” continued Kaiser. “While laser light sources don’t need lamp exchanges, only a sealed, filter-free design can provide truly maintenance-free operation. That’s why we continue to expand our family of projectors with new designs that, thanks to their sealed light engine, are true ‘install and forget’ devices that deliver thousands of hours of reliable, high-performance operation.”

For further information on the new NEC PA703UL laser projector, please visit: https://www.nec-display-solutions.com/p/uk/en/products/details/t/Projectors/Laser-Projectors/rp/PA703UL.xhtml

FIRST^® Tech Challenge is an expeditionary robotics programme for ages 12-18, seeking to build relationships between today’s professionals and tomorrow’s talent. Working in teams of up to 15, and supported by an industry mentor, young people design, build and programme a robot to compete in the annual championships. Team members assume individual and collaborative roles reflective of real-life careers – from software engineers and designers, to project managers and communications officers – all play a part in becoming competition-ready.

During the Championship event in Peterborough, teams competed against each other within alliances, using their robots to complete a series of tasks on a space-themed playing field. Teams were also required to present engineering notebooks, documenting their journey through the programme, to a panel of industry judges.

Honey Glennie from St Christopher’s Snowflakes comments: “It hasn’t properly sunk in yet that we have won the Inspire Award and will be heading to Detroit! We feel so shocked – winning is a dream come true. We can’t wait to head to America, our teacher is from America so it will be really special. A particular highlight for all of us was all the people that we met today, all the teams were amazing and deserve a shout out.”

FIRST^® Tech Challenge is backed by leading industries keen to address the burgeoning STEM skills crisis. Industry mentors have been supporting the teams throughout the programme – helping to ease the load for educators whilst forging important relationships between schools and industry. Arm is the headline sponsor of the Southern championship who, alongside other local employers, provided staff volunteers to steward, judge and referee the Championships.

Maths education extraordinaire, author and TV personality, Bobby Seagull, supported the event as Master of Ceremonies. Bobby engaged the students with a captivating speech during the opening ceremony, got stuck in commentating on robot matches, and interacted with the teams as they practised with their robots throughout the day.

Ed Cervantes-Watson, FIRST^® UK CEO comments: “FIRST^® Tech Challenge is more than robots – it’s a vast collaborative effort between the young people involved and the hundreds of industry mentors, teachers and volunteers who invest their time and energy to inspire the next generation. We’re not setting out to find next Steve Jobs, but if the 1,500 participants this year are less intimated by STEM, more aware of subject choices and career pathways available, and have developed the technical know-how and core life skills needed to better take on tomorrow’s challenges – then that’s mission accomplished.”

The next season of FIRST^® Tech Challenge UK will launch on 1^st May 2019, visit morethanrobots.uk for more information.

FIRST^® Tech Challenge UK is an inclusive robotics programme for ages 12-18, which brings young people together with mentors from industry, in teams up to 15, to design and build a robot to compete in a series of challenges. Collaboration is key and everyone has a part to play throughout the six-month programme – roles are linked to real-world careers and are intended to help young people discover the practical and life skills needed for their future.

An extra-curricular STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) enrichment activity, the FIRST^® Tech Challenge UK programme is backed by leading industries keen to address the emerging STEM skills crisis. FIRST® UK’s employees and industry partners meet regularly with teams, acting as coaches and career role models, whilst easing the load for educators and forging important relationships between schools and industry. In addition to mentors, local employers also provide staff volunteers to support with on-the-day stewarding, judging and refereeing.

Whilst the programme attracts 500,000+ participants annually in the USA, this is the first time the initiative has run in the UK. 100 teams, equating to approximately 1500 students, are participating in the inaugural championship events (Peterborough, March 13^th and Manchester, March 15^th). The winning team from each regional final will be fully funded to attend the global championships in the USA, where they will go head-to-head with teams from all over world.

This year, participating teams were provided with charity bursaries to cover the cost of the robotics kits, phones, and resources, as well as travel awards to take part in the competition. The robotics kits are reusable from year to year providing schools with a sustainable platform for robotics-based education.

Ed Cervantes-Watson, CEO, FIRST^® UK, comments: “We’re counting down to one of the biggest student robotics competitions in the UK and we cannot wait to see what the teams have got to bring to the game field. Young people entering education today will be pursuing jobs which don’t yet exist. We need to equip tomorrow’s workforce with the technical know-how and core life skills they need to transform their futures – FIRST^® Tech Challenge is more than just robots – it’s a platform for young people to become the innovators of tomorrow and ensure no-one is left behind.”

Arm is the headline sponsor of the Southern championships – Anna Malan, from Arm’s Diversity and Inclusion team, comments: “We need young people to be prepared for their futures, not just with the STEM skills and academic qualifications that employers such as Arm rely on – but critically the softer skills which make them great team players, who can positively contribute to all areas of our business, local community and society.”

The Southern Regional Championship will take place on Wednesday 13th March at the KingsGate Conference Centre in Peterborough and 50 teams will be participating, from schools including: Comberton Village College, Linton Village College, Witchford Village College, Chesterton Community College and Trumpington Community College, to name a few.

FIRST^® UK is currently recruiting local science and technology enthusiasts to volunteer at the Peterborough Championships on 13^th May – for more information on volunteering opportunities, and to register your interest, please visit: www.ftc-uk.org/gamechanger/

FIRST® LEGO® League is a global education initiative for students aged between 9 and 16, where teams of up to ten complete a series of robotics-themed challenges and build and program an autonomous robot, using a LEGO® Mindstorms® kit. Designed to encourage young people to take an interest in real world issues and develop technology skills, the challenge comprises three parts: the Robot Game, the Project, and the Core Values.

To compete in the Robot Game, teams programmed autonomous LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robot to complete missions and score points on a themed playing field. Winners of the Robot Game, who scored most points during the missions, were Cambridge, The Pizza Robot.

This year’s project assignment saw teams identify and solve a physical or social problem faced by humans during long duration space exploration within our sun’s solar system. Swavesey Science Club from Swavesey Village College took home the Project Award.

Throughout the entire FIRST® LEGO® League challenge, teams operate under, and are asked to demonstrate, the FIRST® signature set of Core Values, celebrating discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork and fun. This year’s Core Values winners were Shirley Community Primary School, due to their exceptional demonstration of team work, enthusiasm and collaboration through the entire tournament.

This year’s Best Newcomer award went to a team that showed outstanding skill and dedication during their first year participating in the tournament – Trinity Titans from Trinity School Sevenoaks.

Vijay Acharya, Team Coach, CERC, comments: “The team is so overjoyed to have won the Cambridge tournament! This is our first year participating in the FIRST® LEGO® League, and the children have all really engaged with the challenges and shown such amazing progress. It was enormously helpful to receive feedback and advice from the judges and referees on how we can improve going forward – there’s a lot of work to be done before the national final in February, but the team could not be more excited.”

Hosted by the University of Cambridge and supported by Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd., the IET FIRST® LEGO® League Cambridge regional tournament saw a host of experts from the STEM industry come together judge and mentor students, including representatives from Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, Arm, Cambridge Science Centre and Mott MacDonald. The tournament also saw maths education extraordinaire, author and TV personality, Bobby Seagull, M.C. the event – opening the tournament, commentating on the Robot Games and, finally, presenting the participants with their trophies, medals and certificates.

Seema Webb, Director, Human Resources, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd., comments: “This year’s IET FIRST® LEGO® League Cambridge tournament has been an absolute smash hit! It has been fantastic to see such incredible levels of enthusiasm, creativity and ingenuity from so many young people in Cambridge. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc and its subsidiary companies support the FIRST® LEGO® League globally, and on a local level this includes extra support to ensure a diverse set of teams from across the county of Cambridgeshire are able to participate.

“The competition is such a valuable initiative for encouraging children to engage with science, technology, maths and engineering subjects, as well as providing critical teamwork and creativity skills, and it is so important that it is as inclusive as possible. We look forward to supporting more teams next year, inspiring the next generation of STEM professionals and maybe even our future colleagues!”

FIRST® LEGO® League, one of four programs offered by FIRST®, is an annual international competition which sees over 320,000 young people (in 40,000 teams), from across 98 countries, come together to develop their STEM skills. The operational partner of the FIRST® LEGO® League in the UK and Ireland is The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the competition is also supported globally by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and its subsidiaries, with sponsorship that helps to fund participation.

Mandy Workman, IET Education Manager – FIRST® LEGO® League, comments: “We are so grateful for all of the people who have given their time to make this event a reality, as well as the funding from Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. – it really is so important for helping children to engage with their STEM education. We look forward to welcoming team CERC to the national final in February, where they will have the opportunity to progress to one of three international events, including the World Festival in Detroit, Michigan, April 24-27.”

Registration for the FIRST® LEGO® League 2018-19 season is now closed and will re-open soon for the 2019-20 season to teams of up to 10 individuals, aged 9 to 16 years. Teams can be school groups, scout groups, or simply a team of friends, but will need at least two adult coaches. For more information please visit firstlegoleague.theiet.org