Computing is at the heart of modern life. Everything around you probably has at least one computer in it. We teach young people to go beyond the traditional curriculum and develop a love of learning in them. We enter national competitions such as the Longitude Explorer Prize (and win), The Perse Coding Team Challenge, Cyber Discovery and CyberFirst Girls Competition. We have been nominated for BAFTAs in recognition of our commitment to using games development to promote software engineering. We realise that there is more to learning than just exams. We take it much further and develop children for later life and we do it years in advance of many other schools.

 

A focus for academic excellence

We are one of the few independent school in the area to offer academic Computer Science and outstanding enrichment. We have several years of successfully delivering the academic courses and gaining excellent results. Our infrastructure and approach to learning is ahead of many other schools and we always look to offer children rewarding opportunities.

Computing is mandatory for all children until the end of Key Stage 3. During that time, all pupils will learn at least two programming languages (two text-based - C# and SmallBasic or Python and one graphical). Pupils will also learn about other facets of Computing, including hardware, graphics and data analysis. 

We currently offer Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science in recognition of the greater freedom it gives us to teach, due to there being no coursework but rather a practical examination. This reduces pupil workload whilst offering more time to develop a deeper level of learning and skills development.

We offer AQA A Level Computer Science, which is widely regarded by the best universities as the most rigorous A Level course available for Computing. We have excellent pass rates that far exceed national averages at both GCSE and A Level.

Facilities and equipment

We have outstanding facilities with cutting-edge equipment throughout the department and school. We have refurbished all computer rooms within the last two years and replace our equipment regularly to keep pace with the many changes in technology. This year we installed a new Computing lab with 3D printing and workspace for more practical activities, such as networking and building PC’s. This is open to pupils throughout the day for both lessons and enrichment. Pupils can bring in personal laptops, tablets or PCs and will be able to use and charge them in a comfortable and professional open environment.

Events and external trips

We have sponsored International Women’s Day in the College, with female GCSE pupils organising a working lunch to discuss career options with local and national women from business, academia and entrepreneurs. Ericsson hosted a session on the networked economy and taught our ladies what the world expects and requires of successful women in technology and corporate business.

Female pupils have competed in the NCSC/GCHQ #CyberFirst Challenge, where they pitted their wits against other schools and the Cyber Security teams at the NCSC in order to better understand online security challenges and career options making use of Computer Science. The girls finished in the top 50 nationally of over 2000 teams and beat many selective schools from the region, showing the all-round education at Rendcomb equips you for many different potential careers.

Computing trips include visits to competitions, fairs and businesses. Last year we went to the Big Bang Science Fair in Birmingham, where pupils met a real life astronaut, learnt about technical careers in medicine and engineering, as well as took part in a number of competitions. We have also taken small groups of our abler and gifted pupils to London to meet with tech companies and entrepreneurs, including Deloitte Digital, Unity3D and Google Campus. Over the summer a number of pupils were awarded places at the NCSC Cyber Security Summer Camps.