THE SIXTH FORM YEARS BY SUBJECT PART 1

“YOU SHOULD HAVE A GOOD JOB WITH THE QUALIFICATIONS YOU HAVE GOT”

I lost count the number of times I heard this (or some variation of) especially when 2 years after leaving school I ended up in a factory where “any idiot” could get a job. This criticism however only comes from those who never did A-Level computing (or higher education at all for that matter)

On the surface it was easy to see why, computers are an ever increasing part of working life so any qualification involving the use of computers can only be a good thing. Also the pass rate was at the time only around 50% so nobody could ever accuse me of doing an easy course.

There were two big issues that I had with the course and the first was it’s content. A lot of it were learning how a computer represents data or performs calculations in binary or hexadecimal. Reverse Polish notation was another example. Within a couple of years of leaving school it became very obvious that large chunks of that course were useless and completely irrelevant to the use of computers in a normal everyday employment situation. At the time of writing this over 15 years later I have yet to see a single job that I could have got with a computing A-Level.

The second issue was with the teacher Mr Ravat, you only had to spend an hour in the same room as him and it was obvious that he was an expert in his field and knew his stuff well. Unfortunately he was absolutely useless at teaching it.

One of his teaching methods was him reading fairly quickly and the class having to write out what he was saying. His accent and the fact he mumbled a lot meant we were constantly asking him to repeat himself. Then he would often give us things like computer programs without ever explaining what they were about. In short he was a nightmare, a couple of years later uncle David did a night class with him and dropped out after a couple of weeks for the exact same reasons.

Overall A-level computing was a total waste of time that I wish I had never bothered with. I still wonder how I ever managed to pass the subject.

FINAL GRADE - E

REPORT

MARCH 1994 - Matthew has made a good start to the course. His record of attendance has always been good. He works well in class and always participates in class discussions. His problem solving skills are good. However he needs to put more effort into his theory work. Matthew has made significant progress since the beginning of the course. Keep it up.

A - LEVEL MATHS FINAL GRADE - E

From the age of 11 - 14 I had gone from being in the top one percent at Maths to being in the top five percent. I struggled at new concepts at G.C.S.E level and only got a grade B because I did well on the final exam. At A-Level the exact same thing happened, I found large chunks of the course very demanding like calculus.

As with computing I always wondered how much of what we learned would actually be of any use once I left school. Strangely enough some of the concepts did help a lot when I started gambling but that’s all.

Like computing I have yet to see a single job advert that specifically asks for a Maths A-Level. When a job demands an employee must have good numeracy skills that’s exactly what they put. Since leaving school I have had to complete 3 basic numeracy tests (at the time of writing this) despite the fact that I have already shown the employer that I have a Maths A-Level.

For myself this demonstrates that your average employer pays little or no attention to academic qualifications.........................

REPORT

MARCH 1994 - Matthew works hard and well in class, he asks for help when he has problems. He works methodically and at times he perseveres to such an extent he seems to get bogged down in a problem. He took some time to settle down to the demands of an A-Level course. He is mathematically perceptive when solving problems but has more difficulty grasping new concepts as in the calculus unit. He needs to try and be more detailed when explaining his work and use mathematical analysis to complement his explanations. He is determined to succeed, his persistence and hard endeavour will enable him to be successful.