This week, Ian Ramsden, Head of Computing, welcomed Becky Ransome to promote Computer Science as a career to pupils and to encourage more girls to take up the subject.
Ms Ransome works with DEFRA as an apprentice as part of their yearly intake of computer programmers. Downside is one of a handful of schools in the Southwest that offer Computer Science as an option at both A level and GSCE.
Ms Ransome worked with First, Second and Third Form pupils to help with all aspects of coding. She also talked to Fifth Form pupils about the many different routes now available to becoming a software engineer, and spent time helping them with their programming. Ms Ransome also visited the girls’ Houses at break to talk about career options and to answer any other questions they had. Mr Ramsden was incredibly grateful to Ms Ransome for spending the time with our pupils and helping to break down barriers that sometimes still exist for girls to consider computing as a career.
