Pupils go 'CompuCrazy'
Students from ten primary schools had the opportunity to get to grips with computer science issues and techniques through the ‘CompuCrazy’ series of interactive workshops held at Park House School, the South’s Centre of Excellence for Computer Science.
The event precedes changes in the National Curriculum that will, as of September, make it compulsory for all primary schools to teach Computer Science.
The children were split into groups of 20, with each group having the opportunity to participate in five different workshops throughout the day.
Students moved around the workshops and received stickers for completing each zone.
Whilst the children attended the workshops there were some specific sessions targeted at the teachers providing guidance on breaking down the new curriculum for computing and providing ideas on how Computer Science can be taught in a primary school environment.
Children and teachers in Years four and five attended from Burghclere Primary School, Falkland Primary School, John Rankin Junior School, St Nicolas Junior School, The Ilsleys Primary School, Kingsclere Primary School, Speenhamland Primary School, Welford and Wickham Primary School and Woolton Hill Primary School.
Mrs Skuse of Falkland Primary said the day said: "The children learnt a great deal about different aspects of IT, whilst having fun. All the activities were delivered by industry professionals and Park House teachers and were exciting and hands on.”
Falkland Primary School pupil, Jorja, said: “I liked all the activities but the pixel task was the best. We had to make a bit map out of tiles and we learnt about pixels and the level of detail in a picture.”
Peter Marshman, Advanced Skills Teacher in ICT and Computer Science at Park House School said: "Seeing so many pupils from schools in Hampshire and West Berkshire working together and developing their computational thinking skills through activities such as programming and unplugged activities, and being enthusiastic about getting their stickers for completing each zone was fantastic.
“It was great to hear from the teachers how much the students had enjoyed themselves and how key the Park House School student mentors were in supporting the pupils and running workshops."
The event was supported by IET (The Institute of Educational Technology), BCS (Chartered Institute for IT) and CAS(Computing at school).