Year 10 and 11 students who chose to study ICT at Key Stage 4 are following the Pearson BTEC Level 2 Tech Award in Digital Information Technology course.

The topics covered in the course are:

• Exploring User Interface Design Principles and Project Planning Techniques
• Collecting, Presenting and Interpreting Data
• Effective Digital Working Practices

The types of tasks that are completed are a series of practical tasks which solve the kind of issues that creative ICT professionals tackle in real life. Amongst other things, these include:

• Analysis of apps and websites
• Investigation of different ways in which we can interact with computers
• Creation of apps, websites and information points to suit design briefs
• Creation of spreadsheet models

The course is assessed through:

• Controlled Assessment - Two thirds of the final grade will be made up of performance in controlled assessment pieces of work that will be created for units 1 and 2. In the first project students use planning techniques to create a user interface that meets user requirements. In the second project students use their spreadsheet skills to create a data dashboard that will allow organisations to make effective decisions.
• Examination - Unit 3 (‘Effective Digital Working Practices’) is an examination which is set and marked by Pearson. This exam is designed to allow students to show their knowledge of the digital systems available to organisations and how their features have an impact on the way organisations operate. The exam is worth one third of the final grade.

The digital sector is a major source of employment in the UK, with 1.46 million people working in digital companies and around 45,000 digital jobs are advertised at any one time. Digital skills span all industries; almost all jobs in the UK today require employees to have a good level of digital literacy.

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