3-7 Years
- File management, Internet safety, Emailing and Word processing
- Presentations, handling data and graphics
- Programming: Using LOGO to control a screen turtle to draw complex patterns using just a few lines of code
- Scratch and ProBots
St Faith's Prep
Computing
Computing combines logic and creativity in problem-solving, while also enabling competence and confidence in the use of developing technologies. As Head of Computing, I wrote our curriculum specially for St Faith’s, hoping to inspire this generation to love writing their own apps as much as I did as a child.
Brief Computing curriculum highlights include:
Year 3
Year 4
- File management, Internet safety, word processing and emailing: attachments and multiple recipients
- Presentation skills, desktop publishing and handling data
- Graphics and Programming: Pupils use Scratch and ProBots, robotic floor toys with programmable sensors that link in with their understanding of angles in maths.
Year 5
- Binary: counting, converting, ASCII, bitmaps
- Programming: Pupils write their own games in Scratch and share them so that other can view the code and leave feedback
- Robotics: Lego WeDo
- Cryptography
- Graphics: GIMP
- E-safety
Year 6
- Binary: addition, multiplication, subtraction, division
- Robotics: Lego SPIKE Prime
- 3D Graphics
- The Internet
- Fractals
- Scratch and Raspberry Pis: Pupils program Raspberry Pis to switch lights on and off and control buzzers and switches
- Programming: Python
- Web design: KompoZer
- E-safety
Year 7
- Number bases: binary fractions, bases 2-9, bases 11-16, hexadecimal
- Flowcharts
- Programming: Python
- AI and expert systems
- History of Computing
- Computer systems
- Robotics: Lego SPIKE Prime. Pupils program robots to use sensors to interact with their environment.
- Programming: HTML
- E-safety
Year 8
- Binary: Negative numbers
- Programming: Python turtle. Pupils write their own text adventure games using Python.
- Algorithms: bubble sort, shuttle sort, quicksort, linear search, binary search
- Reverse Polish
- Binary trees and Boolean logic
- Networks
- E-safety
Computing at St Faith’s links closely with mathematics, science, and engineering, enhancing students’ understanding across subjects. Computing combines logic and creativity in problem-solving, while also enabling competence and confidence in the use of developing technologies. Our curriculum is unique to St Faith’s and our aim is to inspire this generation to develop their programming skills and prepare them for a technology-driven world.
Our children have had many successes in national competitions: a group of Year 8s won the University of Cambridge Team Coding competition, and one of our pupils was national champion in the Oxford University Computing Challenge.
Liz Oxborough
Head of Computing