Secondary school IT education failing in UK

This article makes two not-obviously-connected claims up front: That IT education is failing in UK, and the number of students pursuing IT education is dropping.  The education could be good, but students might avoid it because of negative stereotypes.  Or is the assumption that part of the role of the secondary school educator is to recruit students?  Overall, this piece hits on lots of themes that have been discussed here, from overly-narrow hiring by employers, to university teachers who dismiss secondary education anyway (“Study maths!”).

When it comes to teaching IT, the UK’s education system is flawed. Despite today’s generation of students growing up with technology, the number pursuing further IT education is falling dramatically.

There has been a 33 per cent drop in ICT GCSE students in the past three years, a 33 per cent drop in numbers studying A-level ICT in the past six years and a huge 57 per cent drop in A-level computing students in the past eight years in England, according to a recent study by the Royal Society.

via Encouraging the next generation of IT workers – 16 Aug 2010 – Computing.