ALL Saints RC School in York has become one of the first schools in England to be awarded official 'computer hub' status by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE).

This allows them to provide support for primary and secondary computing teachers in schools in the area. The award gives the opportunity for teachers to influence thousands of students over their career.

The school is one of the first 23 computing hubs across the country and will be a focal point for local computing training for schools. It will 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 different academic levels including GCSE, AS and A-level, articularly girls and those in disadvantaged areas, and to ensure that there is a strong pipeline of digital skills in England.

Steve Sandwell, operations manager at the school in South Bank, said: “We are delighted to be among the first wave of NCCE computer hubs. It is recognition of the high-quality standards we set in computing education at All Saints. We look forward to working as part of the NCCE network, with our existing and future partners to help improve computing education across York, East Riding, North Yorkshire, the Humber and East Midlands regions.”

NCCE chairman, 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.”