News

Westcliff High School for Girls is delighted to announce that it has become one of the first schools in England to be awarded official Computer Hub status by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), in order to provide support for primary and secondary computing teachers in schools in the area.

Westcliff High School for Girls is one of the first 23 Computing Hubs across England and will be a focal point for local computing training for schools, and will also form links with industry and universities. The NCCE was set up in November 2018 by the Department for Education to increase the number of pupils in schools and colleges who study computer science at GCSE, AS and A level, particularly girls and those in disadvantaged areas, and to ensure that there is a strong pipeline of digital skills in England.

Commenting on the news, Dr P Hayman, Headteacher at Westcliff High School for Girls said "Westcliff High School for Girls is delighted to be awarded Computing Hub status. We recognise the challenge in providing the country with more technically and digitally skilled people and the national shortage in computer science teachers. We look forward to working with the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) and all the schools across Southend, Essex and Thurrock to roll out the national programme of CPD for this critically important area linked to our country's future prosperity."

Chair of the NCCE Professor Simon Peyton Jones said: “It’s exciting to be announcing the first Hubs. They will be the local face of the National Centre, providing tailored support to all computing teachers (primary, secondary and colleges), to equip them to make the new computing curriculum into an inspirational reality in every classroom in the land.

“Our partnership with teachers is vital to our mission. A single inspired, equipped, valued and supported teacher will influence tens or hundreds of children every day, and thousands over their career.”

For more information, contact David Struthers at computing@setsa.info See teachcomputing.org or follow @WeAreComputing on Twitter.