Local pupils can take ‘virtual’ GCSEs

Local high schools will be introducing subjects this September that are not being taught at their schools, it has been confirmed.

In a bid to improve the range of subjects available and to plug the ‘brain drain’ out of Powys, pupils will be able study subjects taught at other schools through virtual learning.

Education chiefs also believe it will improve the number of subjects being taught through Welsh.

The announcement was made by education portfolio holder, Cllr Myfanwy Alexander and is part of a £2 million finance package for school improvements.

Cllr Alexander said: “All high schools have offered a subject that will be available to learners from September.

“There will be a double success in this. It will allow schools that don’t have a specialist subject teacher to offer a curriculum choice.

“Secondly I think it encourages quality, because no headteacher would offer into the system a course that was not very well run on their own site. We hope that this will be a very beneficial step forward.

“In order to do this we need to have IT provision that is up to standard and compatible and this investment will help do that.

“We hope that distance learning will help support our Welsh medium learners. Small streams have particular difficulty building a curriculum offer, distance learning and co-operation between Welsh medium schools can provide a choice.”

Cllr Alexander added that A-Level courses were already being offered “virtually” this year.

Virtual learning is a set of teaching and learning tools designed to enhance a student’s learning experience by including computers and the Internet in the learning process.

The £2 million for primary and secondary school work includes improving disabled access, security work, improved sports facilities and classroom improvements to support the 21st century schools programme in the 2019/20 financial year.

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter