Wyvern College secondary school students CA SE

Paul German, Headteacher and Matt Hunt, ICT Teacher and Assistant Head, Wyvern College
Since moving to the BCS Level 2 ECDL Certificate in IT Application Skills,
Wyvern College hasn’t looked back. The course gives students at KS4 the
skills to use common office applications with confidence, not only during
their ICT lessons but throughout their other GCSE subjects. Uniquely, this
qualification includes a ‘productivity’ unit that brings the learning together.
‘We’ve been so uplifted by ECDL that we’ve decided to make it a core subject,’
says Matt Hunt, ICT Teacher and Assistant Head. ‘It’s going to help students
so much, across the curriculum and post-school, that it’s a no-brainer for us.’
CASE STUDY
Wyvern College secondary school students
use their IT skills across all subjects
‘We realised ECDL not only yielded
strong results, but enabled students to
gain digital literacy skills. It would
leave the boys in a stronger position
when they left school.’
Paul German Headteacher Wyvern College
THE BACKGROUND
THE RESULTS
Wyvern College sought a more
immediate and engaging way to teach
ICT, boost learner confidence and equip
their students with the vocational
computer skills needed for life beyond
secondary school.
ECDL is recognised globally as the
world’s leading IT literacy qualification.
Studied in schools, over a recommended
120 guided learning hours, it covers the
basic to more challenging IT skills, such
as custom spreadsheet functions, mail
merges and the creation of complex
charts and graphs.
Matt Hunt, Assistant Head and ICT
Teacher, elaborates: ‘Going over to ECDL
was one of those decisions – do we or
don’t we? The course we were on at the
time was so dry and the boys were
disengaged. After talking to BCS, we
decided we would go for it.’
He was delighted with the ease of the
transition: ‘The setup for ECDL couldn’t
have been smoother. Someone from
BCS came down, there was email and
phone support, and we have
absolutely zero regrets. It was 100%
the right decision.’
Headteacher, Paul German, concurs:
‘We’ve been able to work with BCS
day-to-day on nitty gritty detail through
to broader strategic planning. The
support has been absolutely superb.’
• Fully accredited, widely
recognised
• Courseware available online
• Flexible teaching options and
exam delivery
• Learning benefits across
the curriculum
This was key for Wyvern College, as Paul
German explains: ‘We realised ECDL not
only yielded strong results, but enabled
students to gain digital literacy skills. It
The ECDL final assessment is flexible, as
would leave the boys in a stronger
Matt explains: ‘The other beauty of the
position when they left school.’
course is that there’s no set exam
Based entirely online, ECDL’s
date—you can judge students as they
assessments and marking are fully
progress and put them in, only when
automated, eradicating any margin for
they’re ready.’ In Wyvern College’s first
error. This boosts morale all round –
year, over 60% of EDCL students
students receive immediate results and
achieved a Distinction or a Distinction*,
teachers free up valuable teaching time.
providing essential Key Stage 4
‘You can teach it however you choose,’
vocational IT skills. Since then, students
explains Matt Hunt. ‘Sometimes I tell the have successfully used the qualification
boys to log on and teach each other, but
to support their college applications.
we can also work through as a class.
Initially introduced as an option, ECDL
All the courseware is online and the
has improved grades and learner
computer dœs the marking, so the boys
confidence so radically that Wyvern
get instant feedback. They have their
College has now rolled out the course as
score, they have their corrections –
a compulsory subject at KS4.
and that has saved me, personally,
Find out more about ECDL at
countless hours.’
bcs.org/secondary
The course has had cross-curricular
benefits too: ‘The boys are using it in
other subjects,’ says Matt. ‘I know this
first hand because I teach GCSE
Geography as well, and I’ve seen these
word processing and presentation skills
in their coursework.’
BCS The Chartered Institute for IT
Qualifications First Floor Block D North Star House North Star Avenue Swindon SN2 1FA
T +44 (0) 1793 417 445 E [email protected] bcs.org/qualifications
© BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, is the business name of the The British Computer Society (Registered charity no. 292786) 2016
If you require this document in accessible format please call +44 (0) 1793 417 600
L&D/CS/0200/0516
The school approached BCS, The
Chartered Institute for IT, to help them
transition from their existing ICT option
to the BCS Level 2 ECDL Certificate in IT
Application Skills. This accredited
qualification is widely recognised by
employers and further education
institutions as proof of digital literacy.
AT A GLANCE