It was announced last week that the UK government will be replacing the current Information and Communications Technology curriculum with that of a Computer Science focused course.

In a move that has been strongly welcomed by the development community, it will mean a dramatic about turn from this time last year when the government were then considering making ICT a non-compulsory part of the curriculum.

As someone who studied ICT throughout my school life, taking qualifications at GCSE level (age 14-16), then IT at AS and A-Level (age 16-18) I think that this is a great move. The current system revolves heavily around theory rather than practice, and is often criticised for the extent that the Microsoft Office suite is taught, with a key observation being that it seems to teach students how to be end-users rather than creators. In a world that revolves so heavily around digital, this is a real shame on several levels.

Understanding the core principles of coding lets pupils better understand what is going on in the technology they use. It improves problem solving skills, and the ability to break scenarios down into small, logical tasks, which are skills that can be carried over into a variety of other disciplines. I also personally believe that it makes people better users - if something is running slowly, users know not to sit and refresh constantly. If something isn't working, they may be able to find a workaround. Most importantly, learning about the mechanics of programming gives people the chance to create something themselves and feed back into the system. Instead of being one of billions of Facebook users criticising the latest redesign and direction, they could be inspired to start something they believe in more. If something doesn't work how they want, they can make something else that does. Instead of trying to find a tool that serves up tweet information exactly how you want it, or for free, why not use the API? If there isn't an app out there that lets you keep a task list in a way that fits in with your workflow, make one.

A lot has been made about the number of students taking ICT dropping - in 2007 81,100 people took the ICT GCSE, falling to just 31,800 in 2011. At the next level up, A-Level Computing fell for the 8th consecutive year to 4000 students in 2011. From personal experience, I would cite an outdated syllabus that includes dry content which just doesn't connect with students. At the time I wouldn't have recommended my course to anyone, and I was likely one of those most enthused about IT in general. This enthusiasm, word of mouth, and encouragement from peers to learn in their free time is what we need to capture with the new curriculum.

With all of this said, what we don't want to lose is a course that promotes general computer literacy and competency with commonly used software such as Microsoft Office. There is definitely still a place for this in schools, especially since a significant amount of children in the UK do not have access to a computer at home. These skills could be incorporated into a General Studies or Professional Skills environment without impacting on the ICT curriculum.

With a great deal of public interest around coding at present hopefully the shift in curriculum will grab the interest of young IT talent. Schemes such as Code Year and 12412 are proving popular with the uninitiated - if Mike Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City is able to sign up to start learning then hopefully school children and adults alike will also start grabbing a keyboard. An announcement that BBC Learning has commissioned Mega Bits, a programme which aims to encourage children to write computer code, may also encourage other parties to commission more in this vein.

There will likely be a number of challenges that will come from the shift in curriculum, with lack of qualified teachers being the main problem cited. There will also be challenges and investment required in order to keep courses relevant to new developments, and ensure that content being taught reflects best practices. This is not just a school level change - it is important that University courses stay relevant too, and offer good links with the industry. This will require commitment from the government, schools, universities, and teachers on an individual basis. Whilst this will be a huge challenge, it needs to happen rather than keep courses outdated and irrelevant. A large amount of developers have spoken positively and offered their help in bringing about this change, and I include myself in that. Having given sessions in a number of academic institutions, I have been saddened that two attempts to contact my old school offering to speak about a career in the industry or to get involved in sessions have not even been met with a reply. My approaches were both pre-announcement of the ICT changes, and I hope that more schools are now willing to embrace the wealth of talent and passion that lies within the developer community.

If you would like to get in touch regarding any of the above, please contact me in the comments below, on Twitter (@sjenkinson), or using sally [dot] jenkinson [at] gmail [dot] com.