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DfE awards BCS three-year contract to deliver scholarship programme to trainee Computer Science teachers

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT has been awarded a three-year contract to deliver the Initial Teacher Training Scholarship Programme for Computer Science Teachers on behalf of the Department for Education.

BCS has been managing the scholarship programme on an annual basis for the past five years. During that time, BCS has been responsible for attracting almost 1,700 applicants to apply for a computer science teaching scholarship. Of these, nearly 500 have gone on to train to teach computing in state schools in England.

Whilst exact figures for the 2019/20 scholarships are yet to be confirmed, in 2018/19, the scholarship programme attracted a tax-free sum of £28,000, as well as providing scholars with support, training and resources.

Commenting on the successful bid, Julia Adamson, Director of Education said, “We are delighted by this vote of confidence that this contract award shows in our team and our approach. We have shown that we have the right expertise to attract and then properly equip computing scholars with both the skills and the knowledge to deliver this important subject in our schools.

“Whilst computer science teaching is an attractive proposition for graduates, over two-thirds of scholarship applicants have been later-in-life career changers. These are often people who have practical IT experience from industry, and who want to ‘give back’ and encourage our young people in the career path they love so much.”

She continued, “A third of our successful scholars are women, which is great news as there simply are not enough girls opting to study computer science at GCSE and beyond. It’s really important that girls have positive female role models in the classroom to encourage them to take an interest in the subject and to take that into their working lives ahead of them.”

Scholars who completed their training in June 2018 had this to say about their experiences:

“I urge all budding Computer Science Teachers to apply to the scholarship. Being a BCS Computing Scholar really puts you one step ahead of the game and makes what is likely to be a challenging year much more reassuring.”
Sophie Clarke, BCS Scholar 2017/18

“The scholarship from BCS is great because it enables career changers like me to make this change whilst still being able to support yourself financially or perhaps even other family members. With that (the scholarship) you also get a range of professional development opportunities and, more importantly, access to a network of like-minded individuals. So, if you’ve got an academic background in Computer Science or work in that industry for some time, then please do consider this opportunity as the profession needs you.”
David Cormell, BCS Scholar 2017/18

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Channel website: http://www.bcs.org/

Original article link: https://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/59882

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