bluecanary Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 That's also our experience of looking at University requirements, Binster. The trouble with this is though, that schools cannot attract good teachers of Computing because the salaries for teachers have become so out of line with what efficient professionals can get in the private sector. Add to that the workload of a teacher, and those that do consider it, are soon off elsewhere. There are simply not the good teachers to teach our children these valuable, crucial skills. If you look at A' Level computer results in recent years across our city and compare then with other subjects, they are absolutely atrocious. Our children are being sold short. This really is a national scandal. An interesting point. I work in the Higher Education sector in this area, and we do not ask for Computer Science A level as an entry requirement at all, as many schools cannot teach it (for the reasons you have mentioned). However, we do require a good grade in A level Maths. The A level Computer Science curriculum is changing significantly at the moment to actually contain more computer science (e.g. programming) rather than simply using Microsoft packages.It's going to take a while to train up the school teachers to deliver this effectively, but it is definitely a change in the right direction. Unfortunately, it may also have some teething problems, such as those encountered by the OP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtkate Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 why? i have work in IT and have an A level in maths and i dont really recall using it. I used mine to get on a degree course, but I am by FAR the exception of my peers. Most do NOT have a degree or A-Level Maths. However, things maybe changing, I've been in the workplace for getting on 10 years now so the next generation might need higher base qualifications? However, I'd say one of the best routes to get into a good IT job is through a graduate scheme, and the clue is in the name that you'd need a relevant degree and that degree will require you to have relevant A-Levels, one of which is likely to be Maths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananaberry Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 you could save some money and do online teaching or go to your school and try and have a meeting to see if their is any services they can provide for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 The trouble with this is though, that schools cannot attract good teachers of Computing because the salaries for teachers have become so out of line with what efficient professionals can get in the private sector. Add to that the workload of a teacher, and those that do consider it, are soon off elsewhere. There are simply not the good teachers to teach our children these valuable, crucial skills. Have you got any evidence for what you are saying or is this all anecdotal? Generally the terms and conditions especially holidays, working hours and pension provision is far superior for a teacher compared with an IT guy in the private sector. Of course there are contractors who earn a lot of money but they tend to be specialists, have to travel and live out of suitcase. The pay for teachers with several years of experience is certainly comparable to someone who works in IT especially in Northern cities such as Sheffield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesther Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Talk to any Headteacher, Zaphod. Physics is almost as bad, and then Maths. The BBC reported on Monday that teaching vacancies are up 40% compared to this time last year. There was a Headteacher on BBC news who said he had to double up classes in Maths, so there were 60 pupils in a group, and he had to draft in 6th Formers to teach them! Edited January 24, 2016 by Hesther Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalharry Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 a computer science degree is a lot more valuable than IT gcse...or a level. Just make sure he has maths or science subjects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Talk to any Headteacher, Zaphod. Physics is almost as bad, and then Maths. If there is a shortage of CS teachers the reason certainly isn't solely because the private sector offers superior pay and conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesther Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 If there is a shortage of CS teachers the reason certainly isn't solely because the private sector offers superior pay and conditions. How do you know this? The thousands of teachers who have left the profession obviously think differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
999tigger Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Hi Hesther See you closed the account. Hope your son got on well with the tutor and he does well in his exam(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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