Computer Science in a Pandemic

Computer science has never been as relevant to pupils’ lives and futures as this year!

by MS PINCHES

mid all the challenges

Aof remote learning and the worries about the pandemic itself, have been messages that have helped pupils to see the importance of studying computer science as an academic subject. Pupils and teachers alike have obviously needed to sharpen our digital skills this year to cope with live lessons and working through Google Classroom. But perhaps more subtle has been the constant presence of computer science themes in the media which relate to curriculum topics that we have been studying across all the year groups in the senior school.

For example, with so many people suddenly working and studying from home, some gadgets have become more necessity than luxury but a shortage of chips from the relatively few different manufacturers has meant many suppliers have had stocks issues for months on end. Data security has made the headlines repeatedly as bigname companies have been targeted, with their computer systems crippled by ransomware attacks. Whilst shops selling non-essential products were forced to close, many companies did a magnificent job of changing their whole business model, creating or updating websites for online retail. And of course, many of those products ordered online were then delivered to us in our homes, by courier companies exploiting algorithms for efficiency.

Perhaps the most exciting development for me personally, though, is the increasing public understanding of the way that data and computing are used to make progress in medicine. We’ve all heard examples through the pandemic of the gene sequencing being done to identify the spread of new variants. Citizen science projects such as the ZOE app have allowed scientists to track changing symptoms in different sections of the population. Infectious diseases experts have been able to run detailed computer simulations modelling the likely effects of possible precautionary measures in an effort to gauge what might be most effective against Covid-19, as we have learnt more about it, based on data gathered from past outbreaks of disease. And by no means least, analysis of the virus itself has allowed its nature to be determined so that multiple successful vaccines have become possible in record time.

In the past, perhaps, computer science was dismissed by many pupils who did not see the subject as relevant to their futures. One silver lining that has come from the pandemic for me, is that pupils are more aware than ever before of the breadth of careers where computer science could be useful.

DEPARTMENTAL OVERVIEW 2020-21 In computer science, things never stay still for long and this year has been no exception, with an ongoing programme of gradual change.

Alongside lessons, we have been lucky to be able to continue with many of the normal events and competitions in spite of Covid-19, with most organisations adjusting their rules if needed to allow a move to online participation. The Bebras Challenge ran as usual in November, which saw pupils use their problem-solving skills to solve computational thinking challenges. The Oxford Computing Challenge in March is the follow-on competition in which high achievers from Bebras were challenged to solve problems by programming.

Only pupils from Middle Fifth and Upper Fifth were able to enter the Perse Coding Team Challenge this year, but six pupils achieved distinction certificates and progressed to the second round. As the name suggests, this competition breaks the stereotypes around programming being a solitary pastime and rewards teams who are able to work together to create solutions. Perhaps most pleasing is the slowly-growing interest in the British Informatics Olympiad. This competition is the programming equivalent of the better-known maths and science Olympiads with participation aimed at the elite of sixth form programmers. After two years in which a few pupils have pioneered this competition at Exeter School, we now have a group of keen programmers who have set their sights on practising to take part as they progress from the PCTC to the BIO.

Ever-increasing numbers of pupils are showing an interest in cyber security. The CyberDiscovery family of events (CyberStart Assess, Game and Essentials) proved more popular than ever this year with pupils from Lower Fifth to Upper Sixth taking part. For the first time at Exeter School, a team of three girls in Fourth Form who took part in the Cyber First Girls event made it through to the regional final for South West England, in which they surpassed all expectations and finished second, narrowly missing out on the national final. They were so evangelical about how much they had enjoyed it that when the Unlock Cyber Challenge came round in June, we had to use a first-come-first-served system to fill the eight places we were allowed!