The BITE (Business, Information Technology and Enterprise) department has 10 dedicated class rooms. Each of the rooms is equipped with 28 student PC’s and a teacher’s PC connected to an overhead projector with viewing screen. Work from the teacher’s machine may also be viewed on the students monitor due to the investment in specialist software. There are also two smaller classrooms that can be used for seminar situations.
Each PC is connected to the Academy network. All students have access to the Academy Intranet and controlled access to the Internet. The department has a comprehensive digital video library and a shared area where students can access a range of resources to help them with their studies.
We have eleven full time, specialist Business Studies and ICT teachers. Mr Adam Cooper is the Head of Department and has two Key Stage Managers to assist with the running of the Key Stage 3 and 4 courses; they are Miss Vicky Donnelly and Mr Paul Nicholson.
There is a Head of Department’s Office and a department store room, fully stocked with a range of high quality text books and resources.
All students in Key Stage three will follow a National Curriculum course in ICT. Students cover a variety of Modules of Study across the three years including Presenting Information, Selecting and Refining Information, Modelling, Data Handling, Control and ICT in the Real World.
Specialist software is used which allows students to access a range of progress tests and the results of these are recorded for analysis by staff. APP assessments are also carried out three times each year.
Students at The King’s Academy must complete a BITE based course at Key Stage 4. Students in the top set complete a GCSE in Business Studies, over two periods per week.
Students in sets 2 to 4 complete a GCSE in Business Communications over three periods per week.
Students in sets 5 to 8 must opt to take either a BTEC First Certificate in ICT or Business (which is worth 2 GCSE’s) and then have the option of extending this to a Diploma qualification (worth 4 GCSE’s) if they wish.
We also provide a Level 1 CLAIT course and an Entry Level Certificate course in ICT for selected students.
At Key Stage 5 the BITE department offers a wide range of one and two year courses, including AS and A2 GCE Applied Business, AS and A2 GCE Applied ICT and AS and A2 Level Economics. All of the courses are popular and well subscribed, taken over six lessons peer week, with three different specialist teachers.
A BTEC National Diploma course in Business, taken over 12 lessons per week, is also available for those wishing to take an extended qualification. This qualification is very popular and worth the equivalent of two A level grades.
We also offer a BTEC First Certificate course in ICT or Business as a one year option in the Sixth Form.