CHIPPING Campden School has been awarded lead school status in the Network of Teaching Excellence in Computer Science.

It was awarded this position by the Computing At School (CAS) initiative, part the Chartered Institute of IT.

Schools awarded this special status take a particular lead for computing education through their curriculum, and extra-curricular engagement with the subject.

They also commit to leading on the subject in their local area by ‘adopting’ at least one other school, and working with it to enhance the status of Computing in that school.

The school's director of eLearning Rhys Froggatt was also given master teacher status in Computer Science by CAS.

The award is given to experienced, high-performing classroom teachers with a passion for the subject and a desire to support others.

Such teachers champion computer science in school and the wider teaching profession, providing mentoring and training to teachers in their local communities.

Mr Froggatt, who is also a former pupil at Chipping Campden School, said: "I am delighted to be able to teach and promote the discipline of Computer Science in my old school.

"This fascinating subject - which is so important in the modern world - offers a gateway to many different careers and opportunities.

"The possibilities are surprising – it is just a case of opening people’s minds to the ideas!

“We are very pleased and excited to be a Lead School in the Network of Excellence (NoE).

"With Master Teacher status I now look forward to working with other schools in the area and in particular the North Cotswold Primary Cluster to develop Computer Science across all key stages.”