Clonmel school only one in the county to teach Computer Science as Leaving Cert subject

Students in forty post primary schools around the country will start studying Leaving Certificate Computer Science from this September and will be the first to sit an exam in the subject in 2020.

Presentation Secondary School in Clonmel is one of the schools involved and the only one in County Tipperary.

The introduction of Computer Science as a Leaving Certificate subject is part of the Government’s overall commitment to embed digital technology in teaching and learning.

Says Education Minister Richard Bruton “The society our children will grow up in, will be one which has been fundamentally transformed by new technology. Our education system must prepare our children to thrive in such an environment by equipping them with skills in creativity, adaptability and problem solving”.

Computer Science for Leaving Certificate focuses on how programming and computational thinking can be applied to the solution of problems, and how computing technology impacts the world around us.

Students will learn

·        Computational thinking

·        How to analyse problems in computational terms

·        Programming languages and how to read, write, test and modify computer programs

·        Creative design

·        Design computational artefacts such as web pages, digital animations, simulations, games, apps and robotic systems

·        The ethical, historical, environmental and technological aspects of Computer Science, and how it impacts the social and economic development of society.

The 40 schools will begin studying the subject from this September.