ICT GSCE candidates fall by 17 per cent

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Despite a growing dependence on IT in the workplace, the number of students taking ICT courses at GSCE level has fallen by almost a fifth.

This year only 61,022 students took the ICT GCSE, compared with 73,519 last year – a drop of 17 per cent.

The figures mirrored the trend in A levels, with both participation in computing and IT courses falling dramatically over the past decade.

The drop has alarmed industry professionals who are looking to the next generation to carry the technology torch.

The manager of security firm Symantec in the UK, Tony Osborn, has called for more specialised IT subjects to be taught in schools to increase enthusiasm.

“Students today have grown up surrounded by computers,” he said. “By the time they reach GCSE level they are already skilled enough on a computer to do most jobs.”

“If we are going to extend their interest in ICT we need to find topics that make the subject appeal to them, as well as teach them.”

The Royal Society announced this month it has ordered a report to look into what can be done to reverse the trend of falling interest in IT courses.

Click here to read our Q&A with Dr Bill Mitchell, director of the BCS Academy of Computing, to see what he thinks can be done to reignite a passion for IT in our pupils.

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