Raspberry Pi gets top marks from secondary school

The Raspberry Pi bare bones computer has proved a hit with both staff and pupils at Swallow Hill Community College, the first school in the UK to use the device.

According to our sister publication Computing, children at the school aged between 11 and 12 have already collaborated on networked coding projects in a taster class set up by Raspberry Pi distributor Premier Farnell.

The company has also shown staff how pupils could benefit from a curriculum that is more focused on programming.

Bryan Pearce, deputy head of the school said: "I always feel a little bit sorry for the IT teachers, and I'm guessing it's the same in most schools, because I think all of our IT teachers have a background, and a degree, in programming."

The ICT schools' curriculum in the UK has been a source of much criticism for nearly three decades, when Computer Studies O-Level students were taught about punch cards and paper tape.

In January this year, education secretary Michael Gove, said the Government plans to scrap the current curriculum in England because it was "harmful and dull" and children received an inadequate education in computing.

He went on to say that a revival in the kind of environment that fostered the work of people such as British computer pioneer Alan Turing was urgently needed.

According to Mr Pearce, the £22 bare bones computer will transform the way computing is taught in his school and will "give the students lots of opportunities to do programming - to have a go at it themselves."

He added: "All of our staff are really keen to get started with the kind of programming Raspberry Pi can offer."