Settle down, class. Google and Microsoft have joined gaming giants including Sony and Nintendo in calling for computer science to be brought back to UK schools.
The technology giants have joined the Next Gen Skills Campaign, which calls for the government to ensure today's schoolchildren are endowed with computer-related skills to take on the increasingly digital job market.
Led by gaming industry body UKIE, the campaign is also backed by Sega, Electronic Arts and Activision, as well as TalkTalk and the Guardian Media Group. Various education bodies are also involved -- you at the back, are you chewing?
Prime Minister David Cameron has made encouraging noises, although there's been no official response from the Education Secretary Michael Gove.
The campaign follows the Livingstone-Hope Skills Review of Video Games and Visual Effects earlier this year, which recommends among other things that computer science be added to the national curriculum. That was co-written by gaming legend Ian Livingstone -- the man behind the Fighting Fantasy choose your own adventure books.
Your humble correspondent's first experience of computing was a BBC Micro in school, but didn't have an email address until university. Computing in this craver's school was an after-school activity for the socially maladjusted, when we weren't swapping Doctor Who videos. You'd hope things would have changed in today's digital landscape.
Did you learn enough about computers at school? If you're in a computing job, where did you pick up your l33t skills? If you're still at school, do you think your school does enough to teach you about the digital world? Tell us your thoughts on school computing in the comments or on our Facebook page.
And where do you think you're going? The bell is for me, not for you.
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters
Comments 6
Add your comment
Ryan J Pattinson 28 November, 2011 14:56
this would be amazing if schools did this but make it harder on some people looking for jobs they need to create more jobs aswell as do this with me iv been better at computer stuff like code writing and hardwear stuff and im doing a gaming course in college right now best thing iv ever done and im a head of the class in most things they really do need things like this for people like me
anonymous 28 November, 2011 16:26
I will have to wait until A level to study anything that is vaguely interesting when it comes to computers. ICT at GCSE level is effectively a repeat of the last three years of education - i.e. Spreadsheets, word documents, spreadsheets, powerpoints, bouncing ball stop frame animations (if you're lucky), spreadsheets, how to use a large multinational corporation's software, oh, and, did I mention spreadsheets?
anonymous 28 November, 2011 18:49
@anon yeah gcse ict is pretty dismal, I'm taking Computing AS and it's pretty interesting, theres a decent portion of programming and logic (yay) but alot of systems development, which can be a pain in the **** I'm looking forward to A2 though, you get to do a project of your choosing. I'll likely do an android app since i'm already proficient in Java. As far as computing in education goes, I'm greedy and want to be special and weird, so keep it a niche subject, thanks :D
anonymous 29 November, 2011 10:49
I think the gap between GCSE level Computing in schools isn't sufficient enough for anyone to bridge a comfortable gap into a computing route to a higher level, many of the skills I seemed to have picked up where through my own tinkering and playing around up until I started to study computer networking back in 2008, the difference between what I learnt at school and what I learnt at College (and subsequently University) has was huge.
Mat Greenfield 29 November, 2011 11:36
If they want to teach basic coding skills then it'll take a lot of creativity to make it interesting to schoolkids. I've been coding for years but my first taste of a formal education in it (at first year of university, no less!) was months of tediously coding exercises in variables, control flow, data structures and so on -- all very important and fundamental to practically every programming language, but dull. I agree wholeheartedly that kids should be taught coding at a young age, but programmers are generally borne from their own experimentation with it and if it's not taught in an engaging way then it'll just create a generation of people resentful of programming.
anonymous 29 November, 2011 20:28
I'm doing an AS in computing and it's the most pointless subject going. I would go so far as to say it is easier than all my GCSEs