General Teaching Council Northern Ireland

Crumlin creates online engineering first

21/07/2008 :: Northern Ireland :: The Irish News

Crumlin Integrated College is to become the first school in the north to introduce online delivery of the double award engineering GCSE.

From September 2008, the school will also offer maths via e-learning.

In addition to being taught technology and maths in school, pupils will get complementary modules, homework and lessons which they download as podcasts. The venture is being supported by Schrader Electronics who say there is a shortage of engineers in Britain and Northern Ireland.

The double award, which is worth two GCSEs, offers candidates the opportunity to embark on vocationally related programmes of study that can lead both directly into employment or to further learning opportunities.

It also prepares pupils for further study into other qualifications either within the same area or in a related area. Teachers say it provides a variety of assessment and encourages independent learning skills.

In addition, they say double award specifications provide an excellent vehicle for equipping young people for the world of work and as an introduction to a vocational area.

"Being competent in mathematics is essential to a number of careers including engineering," principal Dr Annabel Scott said.

"We are delighted to be able to offer our pupils maths tuition through e-learning as part of GCSE double award engineering."