Spotlight on Computer Science

Posted in: News Archive

Chris Marks-BillsonHead of Computer Science, Chris Marks-Billson, was delighted with Longhill’s exam results in his subject this year, when students achieved 78% A* – C, which was 13% above the national average.  “This is the first cohort to complete Computer Science as an option chosen in Year 9”, he explained.  “This is an excellent result and I have high hopes for an even larger uptake from our students when they make their choices from now on in Year 8.”

Mr Marks-Billson, who has been at Longhill for the past 12 years, has noticed a steady increase in exam results over the past few years, as well as more girls becoming interested in what has traditionally been a male-dominated subject.

“Industry is increasingly demanding more technical knowledge from our students.” explained Mr Marks-Billson.  “This is something we welcome here at Longhill, as we have been teaching coding for the past 5 years and, along with other local schools, are in the vanguard of secondary schools teaching more technical computing skills to our students from Year 8 onwards.”

The city of Brighton and Hove is a very creative place and businesses rely on computing in its various forms.  “The more we can enhance our students’ technical skills, then the more opportunities will be open to them, both locally and further afield.” Said Mr Marks-Billson.

“With the merging of the Computer Science and Technology departments we are developing more technologies such as CAD, CAM, engineering and web design, which in turn is offering a huge breadth of opportunities to our students.”

Computer Science and History students are currently collaborating on an exciting project to produce a mobile phone app about the history of Brighton & Hove, so watch this space for more news on this!

 

Chris Marks-Billson

Head of Computer Science

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