Computer Science Extra-Curricular Activities

In addition to the numerous trips, visits and events which take place, we also hold Computing and ICT Lunch Clubs.

Year 9 – smallpiece Trust visit: Students had to create a car from the materials provided.
“I would personally say that it was a really fun experience to be able to take part in and I did not know that there were so many opportunities ahead of us especially in F1. One of my favourite things was that we all worked as a team. My job was to create the drawing for our design (the snake head) including our logo. We had a great day and I really enjoyed it." Year 9 student

Year 10 – BIMA Digital Day: We participated in the BIMA Digital Day and took on a team challenge set by the FA to promote girls football aimed at girls between the ages of 8-16, to encourage them to join and play. We decided to promote girls football on social media as it is very popular among teenagers. Our football club name was called ‘EGFC’ (England Girls Football Club). We discussed ideas on how to engage more young girls to sign up and where to advertise our merchandise. We chose the official app for the girls’ football club where fans could get discounts from our sponsors.

“It was hard at first but then when we thought of good ideas, and it was fun! Especially the creativity part!” Moriom

“The whole experience of working together as a team to participate in the challenge and promote girls football was exciting and really fun. I learnt a lot about what kinds of things they do at Rufus Leonard and what it is like to come up with ideas and put together something to promote.” Ramandeep Kaur

Year 10 – Cambridge University Issac Computer Science event:
We had an exciting opportunity to take eight students to the University of Cambridge to take part in a Computer Science conference run by Isaac Computing. This trip was aimed at inspiring the students to complete study at A level and University. The event covered Computer Science careers and real-world applications, and what it is like to study the subject at degree level. Students heard from a diverse range of industry professionals and took part in interactive workshops throughout the day – all in the incredible University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory.

Year 11 Computing – University of Bedfordshire Computing and ICT Day:
Students took part in various activities which will help revise the content they need for their GCSE exam and these included cyber security, encryption, packet sniffing and a tutorial on Linux (no prior experience required).

Sixth form Rush VR event:
Our sixth form students attended Rush VR in Milton Keynes. This was a trip to discuss the career opportunities in Computer Science and Gaming and also to look at the specifications needed for the computers.

Year 8-13 – Bebras Computing Challenge:
All our computing students took part in the annual Bebras Challenge which introduces computational thinking to students. It is organised in over 50 countries and designed to get students all over the world excited about computing. Each participant answers questions that focus on computational and logical thinking. We had five students in 2021-2022 that achieved a ‘Gold’ award for their participation, which means they scored in the top 10% nationally in their age group. They received the Gold award and were invited to the next round which is ‘The Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC)’.

Hala has written about her experience in the competition:
“Taking part in the Bebras Competition was a true delight! That one hour we had to complete the challenges passed by in a blur, because I was so immersed in racking my brain to find the solutions. It was really fun discussing and debating with my peers about each question, especially since each task tested a different skill. Whether it was numeracy, literacy with word play or my bank of knowledge, the competition really did surprise me with its variety. It left me hoping for the next round the minute it was over! It was an enjoyable competition to take part in!”