Computing at school: stimulating computing education in the UK
Proceedings of the 11th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research
Making computing interesting to school students: teachers' perspectives
Proceedings of the 18th ACM conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education
A tale of three sites: resource and knowledge sharing amongst computer science educators
Proceedings of the ninth annual international ACM conference on International computing education research
Proceedings of the 45th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
Proceedings of the 45th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
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Computer science in UK schools is a subject in decline: the ratio of Computing to Maths A-Level students (i.e. ages 16--18) has fallen from 1:2 in 2003 to 1:20 in 2011 and in 2012. In 2011 and again in 2012, the ratio for female students was 1:100, with less than 300 female students taking Computing A-Level in the whole of the UK each year. Similar problems have been observed in the USA and other countries, despite the increased need for computer science skills caused by IT growth in industry and society. In the UK, the Computing At School (CAS) group was formed to try to improve the state of computer science in schools. Using a combination of grassroots teacher activities and policy lobbying at a national level, CAS has been able to rapidly gain traction in the fight for computer science in schools. We examine the reasons for this success, the challenges and dangers that lie ahead, and suggest how the experience of CAS in the UK can benefit other similar organisations, such as the CSTA in the USA.