Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

What is a computer?

And more importantly, what can we achieve with one? ICT has moved on dramatically from the days that students would be asking: "What's a cursor, what's an eraser?" Today, students arrive from primary school with an excellent understanding of Microsoft Office and can expect to develop these skills during their time at William Ellis. They will also learn how to edit images (Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Fireworks), create animations (Macromedia Flash) and build websites (Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia DreamWeaver).

ICT is a core subject; it plays a major part in nearly every other subject and is becoming more essential for both employment and leisure activities.

Over the last six years, ICT at William Ellis has expanded from a small collection of Apple computers to a well established Department offering many different qualifications. There are currently over 200 computers in the school and they are used extensively by all departments.

All students at William Ellis are taught how to use core packages such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentation software during KS3 and KS4. Those that opt to study GCSE as a discrete subject in KS4 will develop their skills to a greater level, as well as learning how computers are used in society as a whole. ICT is also offered as an A Level to those students who study in La Swap.