Welcoming
students from the local Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire area, to further afield
from East Lothian, Robert Gordon's
College gathered the RGC Online student
community together at Schoolhill recently.
Throughout the year, they have been working together as an online
class with Danny McGee, Teacher of
Computing Science. The students have progressed well through their Higher
Computing Science course work, and it was time to complete their practical SQA
Assignment under invigilated conditions.
Robin Macpherson, Head of Robert Gordon’s
College, along with Jess Power, Head of
RGC Online, welcomed the pupils on to campus. After a quick introduction to
what was ahead of them, the students received their RGC Online hooded tops. Led
by Mr McGee and Mr Gordon Rae, Teacher of
Computing and Mathematics, the students worked through their assignments.
Mrs Power shared: “Every Monday and Wednesday, Mr McGee hosts
the live classes via Google Meet in the early evening to enable the students to
attend their day school, eat, relax and be ready for their lesson. This has
worked really well with the students this year who have continued to manage
their other activities around their computing lessons. While the online classes
have been a success this year, it was fantastic to finally have an opportunity
to have the whole cohort together in a real bricks and mortar classroom. The
Assignment is an important part of the Higher Computing Science certification
and the students have really valued Mr McGee’s guidance throughout, as he is an
exceptionally experienced educator and current Principal Assessor for Higher
Computing Science for the SQA.”
Mr McGee commented: “Students employed their Python programming
and SQL expertise to develop their own solutions to the Higher Computing
Science Assignment. Expertise in these areas was developed throughout the year
using the browser-based IDE, Replit. Problem solving and computational thinking
skills are such an integral part of this course and it was really rewarding to
see them apply these skills to successfully complete the assignment to a high
standard.”
Mr Macpherson added: “It was a landmark moment for us to have our
inaugural RGC Online class come together for the first time at Schoolhill,
Aberdeen for the assignment. We’re really proud of their efforts and their
progress so far. It shows that the platform we have established is really
working well and that bodes well for future growth. Bringing pupils from across
Scotland together to increase SQA presentations for Computing Science, as well
as learning about cutting edge technology through the diploma programme, will
provide a massive boost to Scotland’s tech sector in the future. It also shows
our commitment as a school to public benefit and extending access, thanks to
the number of fully funded scholarship places we can offer through RGC Online.”
Find out more about the live-taught
online Higher courses and additional tech modules for students across Scotland at www.rgc.aberdeen.sch.uk/learning/rgconline.