Hillcroft teacher masters technical challenge to clinch school’s ITstatus

Hillcroft Primary School in Caterham can now proudly boast to be leading the way in all matters IT-related after member of staff Wendy MacLeod attained CAS  (Computing at School) Master Teacher status in the subject.

The qualification, awarded under the governance of BCS, the IT industry’s chartered institute, means Hillcroft has been upgraded to being a lead school in the organisation’s Network of Excellence, and Mrs MacLeod is the first primary school teacher in the region to be granted the title.

“I was alerted to the scheme by the head, Stephanie Scutter, and because I’m so passionate about the subject, I was very keen to apply for it,” Mrs MacLeod explained. “Competition to get on the course was pretty fierce, with people applying from all over the country for just a handful of places, so to get on at all was quite an achievement."

Once accepted, it was an intensive regime, with the technique of passing the skills on to others playing a prominent role. “I had to complete 28 assignments during a five-day course at Greenwich University, and then attend a training day on how to organise and run
training sessions, which is one of the things that I will now be doing as part of Hillcroft’s lead school status,” Mrs MacLeod continued. “From September we’ll be running courses for teachers across East Surrey, putting into practice what I’ve learned, and also further
developing our own computing curriculum here at the school. It’s been a fantastic learning experience for me, and I’m really looking forward to helping others benefit from it as well."

Hillcroft’s exective head Ms Scutter was delighted with her colleague’s achievement, both on a personal level and for the school as a whole. “We’re thrilled with what Wendy’s managed to do,” she explained. “She certainly deserves the title for all the work she’s put in, and it’s wonderful that not only is the whole of Hillcroft benefiting, but also that, in future, other local schools will as well."