Exciting times! The new fully scored computer science study in the VCE, provisionally titled “Algorithmics”, that we are developing with VCAA and the University of Melbourne has just officially been announced for introduction in 2015.

The announcement only came out just before the weekend, and initial interest from schools has been fantastic.

See this Notice to Schools and also Page 12-13 of this earlier VCAA position paper where the study was still titled “Computational Logic”: Strengthening Senior Secondary Pathways.

• The study is a first in two regards:1) it is a radical departure from what is normally taught as IT in school curricula, emphasising Algorithmics, the core of computer science. 2) it is the first study under a new schema that is designed to let high performing students get early access to tertiary learning.
• The study will be delivered in collaboration between schools and the universities and will ideally prepare students planning to enter tertiary studies in computing. However, its appeal is much broader than this: it will benefit students in any field that requires formal, abstract reasoning.
• The study is specifically designed to have no gender bias and should have particular potential for engaging girls with the field. It radically moves away from the often-found IT obsession of “wrangling a machine” and focuses on the underlying theory and conceptual aspects.

As always, feel free to get in touch if you want to hear more!