Head of Department: Mrs Thomas-Nash
Direct Dial Telephone: 01344 465052
Email: rthomas@brakenhale.bracknell-forest.sch.uk

Aims

• To teach students about the different aspects of ICT and its use in the workplace
• To equip students with the skills and understanding to use ICT effectively when they leave school
• To prepare students to be successful in their public examinations
• To develop the confidence of our students in order that they are willing to experiment in ICT

Key Stage 3

At Key Stage 3 all students study ICT for one lesson per week.

Year 7

• Introduction to ICT
• Draw Skills
• Word Processing & Desktop Publishing 1
• Email
• E-Safety Project
• Modelling 1
• Data Handling 1
• Presentation

Year 8

• Modelling 2
• Word Processing & Desktop Publishing 2
• Sound Project
• Movie Project
• Data Handling 2
• Game Generation
• Information, Reliability, Validity & Bias

Year 9

• Cryptography
• 3D Design
• Star Struck Graphics
• Star Struck Communication
• Star Struck Music Mix
• Star Struck Modelling
• Star Struck Data Handling
• Star Struck Newsletter

Key Stage 4

The ICT Department currently offers two options at GCSE:

• GCSE ICT (Single Award), which consists of three pieces of coursework and two examinations. The coursework is worth 60% and the examinations are worth 40% of the overall grade. This course is allocated 5 lessons per fortnight.
  
  
• GCSE Applied ICT (Double Award), which consists of two portfolios of coursework and one examination. The coursework is worth 67% and the examination is worth 33%. This course is allocated 10 lessons per fortnight.

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Key Stage 5/Post 16

Students follow the WJEC A level course and have examinations in January and May of each academic year.

AS Level

IT1: Information Systems

This is the examination element of the AS course. This is worth 60% of the AS level, and 30% if the student chooses to go on to do the A2. It consists of a written paper of two sections, A and B, presented in a question and answer booklet. There are no optional questions. Quality of Written Communication is assessed in two questions. Students will be required to prepare a spreadsheet on a specific topic, defined by WJEC, in advance of the written paper. Hard copies of the spreadsheet are taken into the examination and used to answer questions in Section B. This spreadsheet is submitted with the completed examination paper.

IT2: Presenting Information

This is the coursework element of the AS course. This is worth 40% of the AS level, and 20% if the student chooses to go on to do the A2. Students undertake DTP and multimedia tasks, presenting the outcome for internal assessment and moderation by WJEC.

A2

IT3: Use and Impact of ICT

This is the examination element of the A2 course. This is worth 30% of the A level. It consists of a written paper of two sections, A and B, presented as a question paper requiring a separate answer booklet. Candidates answer all questions in Section A and one from two in Section B. Quality of Written Communication is assessed in two questions.

IT4: Relational Databases

This is the coursework element of the A2 course. This is worth 20% of the A level. Students analyse, design, implement, test and evaluate a solution to a problem of their choice requiring the use of a relational database. This is a substantial piece of work, undertaken over an extended period of time. It is internally assessed and moderated by WJEC.

Resources

All resources for ICT are placed on the school’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Each year group has its own page, with all the resources and homework for each module.

Other Information

Support is available within the ICT Department every afternoon from 3.05pm – 4.30pm. We offer assistance with coursework, revision, and homework for all year groups.

If you require any further information please contact Mrs Thomas-Nash, Head of ICT, at rthomas@brakenhale.bracknell-forest.sch.uk

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