Children to learn computer science

Computer science will be given more ground in primary education as the government will be replacing information technology with a new computing curriculum due next year.

Steve Beswick, Director of the Education Sector, told the BBC: “We believe that [computer science] is every bit as important as physics, chemistry and biology.”

He argued that the computer gaming sector generates £3 billion a year for the British economy but that there is a significant lack of computer scientists in the economy to satisfy its demand.

Mr. Beswick believed that formally introducing primary students to computing will help inspire more students to undertake computer science in higher education.

Ben Hayman, first-year Computer Science undergraduate, agreed that students may not be as inspired to take computer science in university due to a general misunderstanding of the subject.

He said: “Most people think that computer science is only about programming and computers, but what they don’t realize is that is it applicable to a range of electrical devices that modern society depends on.”

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Matthew Leeke, was more hopeful than certain about the changes, he said: “Indeed, it is our hope that this development will encourage more of the most talented students to consider a degree in Computer Science.

“In the short-term it may be daunting for primary school teachers to provide their pupils with a grounding in Computer Science but, with the support of government, professional bodies and universities, the long-term benefits are potentially enormous.”

Jackie Lockinger, a first-year English and German undergraduate was more doubtful of the project. She said: “Proper computing is challenging and it would be more appropriate to teach it in secondary schools instead.”

Though the development was welcomed by the computing community, there were concerns about the lack of specialist computer science teachers. Nonetheless, the Department of Education agreed to involve experts like Microsoft, Google and Cambridge University in the development of computer science teaching.

A first-year undergraduate student, however, commented: “I don’t understand how this can be viewed as a ‘significant development’ since the International Baccalaureate always had Computer Science as science option. I think this proves that British education still has some way to go in terms being more forward thinking.”