Why Scottish pupils' disinterest in thriving sector doesn't compute

AWARDS for pupils studying Computing Science are to be made by a Scottish charity because the uptake of the subject, particularly girls, is “so awful”.

Enough money has been raised to enable schools nationwide to begin giving the awards to the best female pupils in the subject in an attempt to close the gender gap. 

However, as the uptake is generally poor amongst both boys and girls, it is hoped more money can be raised to award the best male pupils too.

The first prizes are being funded by the Ernst Maas Educational Trust – who made the offer after reading in the Herald about the efforts of West Lothian teacher Toni Scullion to stimulate interest in computing science. 

The awards are just one of the initiatives being undertaken by Scullion’s charity, dressCode, to try and reverse the declining numbers of pupils – and teachers – in the subject which is seen as key if Scotland is to become a truly digital nation. 

Despite having a flourishing digital technology sector and excellent courses at college and university, not enough pupils are taking up the subject – meaning there could be a serious shortfall in homegrown talent to sustain the industry. 

Not only are there not enough pupils but there are so few teachers the subject isn’t even taught in every school in Scotland. 

It is not yet known why, but the number of pupils studying Computing Science since the turn of this century has plummeted from 20,000 to barely 10,000. 

 Toni Scullion

Teacher numbers, never high in the first place, have dropped still further by almost a quarter in recent years. 

In order to encourage more pupils, particularly females, to take up the subject Scullion began dressCode, an award-winning free online coding club which is now used by 49 schools in Scotland, eight in England and even schools in Spain and Kazakhstan. 

She has been trying to raise awareness of the seriousness of the situation for years and her hard work is finally paying off, following the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review commissioned by the Scottish Government last summer exploring how Scotland’s technology sector could contribute to the country’s economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The report recognised the problem at school level and recommended the subject be treated with the same focus as mathematics.

The review has now been endorsed by the Scottish Government – a welcome move according to Scullion, who hopes more money will be invested Computing Science.

“Investment is not high enough at the moment considering how important the subject is to the Scottish economy,” she said. 

The visionary review gained much publicity and, on the back of it, Scullion again put out a call to industry to help out. This time her plea was widely heard, with some of the industry’s top players asking how they could contribute.

With support from individuals in industry and other Computing Science teachers dressCode launched the Digital Technology Education Charter to encourage he take up of the subject by pupils and to create links between schools, industry and academia.

This was launched only a few months ago and has already gained backing from three universities, three secondary schools, 54 organisations including Microsoft, Morgan Stanley and J P Morgan and 110 individuals. 

The group is planning a campaign to be launched early next year to encourage children to pick the subject, as well as raise awareness amongst parents of its importance and how it can lead to a good career.

“That will be really exciting and as we have managed to partner with Skills Development Scotland’s Digital World so we are going to have a really cool set of videos coming out,” said Scullion. 

While the latest numbers from the SQA show a slight increase in pupils taking the subject, Scullion believes there is no room for complacency as the decline in the last two decades has been so drastic.

“We have 72 more pupils studying National 5 this year compared with last year, 211 more pupils are studying it at Higher level and 73 more are studying Advanced Higher so it is encouraging, but in the grand scheme of things that is just 356 pupils extra which works out as just less than one extra pupil per secondary school in Scotland,” she pointed out. 

“It is the first time ever the figures have shown a tiny increase but it is really difficult to draw any reliable conclusions from it just because of the year it has been.”

Scullion added: “My worry is that people will think it is all fine now because of the increase but we need to remember that we have had a 20 year trend of falling uptake as well as a fall in teachers and Computing Science is still not delivered in every school in Scotland. 

“It has been awful. We still have a long way to go and what we need to think about is what we are doing to reverse that spiral and if we truly want to see Scotland become a digital nation as the Scottish Government intends.” 

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Trust’s donation will help nurture female talent 

SCHOLARSHIPS for senior female pupils studying Computing Science are planned after an educational trust offered to help build support for the subject. 

After reading in the Herald about the work of dressCode charity and founder Toni Scullion, the Ernst Maas Educational Trust offered a donation to the cause.

After learning about the efforts of dressCode in The Herald, the Ernst Maas Educational Trust offered a cash sum to establish new scholarships

As well as using the money to give awards to schools to recognise female talent studying the subject, Scullion hopes to raise more so scholarships can be awarded. 

These would be for females studying the subject at Advanced Higher level and would enable industry partnerships with these pupils to give them experience in a wide range of workplaces and encourage more to consider the subject as a valid choice further on in their educational journey. 

“We are looking to partner with companies in cyber security, data science, digital health and all the kind of areas in technology we have in Scotland so we can give pupils a day taster session to show them what is out there. 

“In addition if they manage to stay on until exam time they will get a small monetary donation,” said Scullion.

She is hoping to raise more money from industry to help with the scholarships but already has enough from Ernst Maas to start awards in Computing Science for female pupils and start shaping the scholarships. 

“What we are hoping is that this will be a permanent award in schools as we want to create a legacy,” Scullion said. 

“We thought we would make it for females to begin with because dressCode is all about closing the gender gap in Computing Science. 

“Statistically females taking the subject are only 20% of the total and we know that is an issue in industry as well. 

“I heard about a school that doesn’t have a single female pupil above S3 in Computing Science so we are hoping that even a small thing like an award might start shifting the balance in schools. 

“If someone wins an award they might continue with the subject and it might create a domino effect with more girls being role models and inspiring others.” 

She said dressCode would never have been able to fund the awards, which will be available to every secondary school teaching computer science in Scotland, had Ernst Maas not offered to help.

“I just hope it makes a difference,” Scullion said.

“I would love eventually for there to be an award in every university and every college so it is just the norm to have a best female in the subject all the way up. I think it is going to be really exciting.”