30 January 2012 - London, United Kingdom– Games and interactive entertainment trade body, Ukie, has today welcomed having Computer Science accepted as part of the English Baccalaureate, seeing it as another major win in addressing the skills issues faced by the games industry.
Getting computer science on to the E-Bacc was a major recommendation of the Next Gen report co-authored by Ukie Vice-Chair Ian Livingstone and it has been advocated to government by the Ukie funded, cross-industry, Next Gen Skills campaign.
The E-Bacc requires pupils to get good GCSE grades in core subjects - English, Maths, sciences, a humanities and language. This means Computer Science will now be included as one of the science options that count towards this measure. Ukie believes that this makes Computer Science a recognised discipline in its own right, and will transform the status and take up of the subject across the country.
Responding to the news that Computer Science will be considered a subject on the English Baccalaureate, Ian Livingstone CBE, Vice Chair of Ukie and co-chair of Next Gen Skills said:
“Getting Computer Science accepted as a subject on the English Baccalaureate could be transformational. It is a huge victory for the Next Gen Skills campaign and our partners. Computer Science is now officially the 4 th science, on a par with the other sciences, and a core subject for children to learn. This will help ensure that this country produces a new generation of digital makers, not just for the games industry, but for all creative and digital industries. The legacy of Alan Turing lives on!”
Dr Jo Twist, CEO of games trade body Ukie, which funded the Next Gen Skills campaign, said:
“This is fantastic news for the games industry. Our Vice Chair Ian Livingstone has worked tirelessly on this and without him spearheading the cross industry Next Gen Skills Campaign, which Ukie members funded, it would never have happened.” [ol]
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Contacts:
For all press enquiries, please contact the Ukie press office on T: +44 (0)20 7534 0580 or E: press@ukie.org.uk
About Ukie
The Association for United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment or Ukie (pronounced YOU-KEY) is a trade body that aims to support, grow and promote the whole of the UK’s games and interactive entertainment industry. Founded in 2010 (although formerly known as ELSPA), Ukie’s membership includes all the major UK and global games publishers and the best of UK development talent - from promising start-ups to some of the biggest, most successful studios operating in the UK today.
We also have distributors, academic institutions, new publishers, and media outlets that are integral to the lifeblood of the industry as part of the family.
Ukie works with government to champion a range of issues including age ratings, education and skills, access to finance and protecting intellectual property rights. It also works with the media to ensure true and accurate representation of the sector by raising awareness of the industry’s positive economic contribution and the societal benefits of gaming to policy makers, regulators and consumers.
One of Ukie’s key roles is to support its members by providing them with key market information, promoting careers and offering the business support services, training and best-practice knowledge to enable them to operate most effectively.
We also offer a comprehensive events programme to give the games industry access to key information, leading industry figures and give everyone the chance to network. You can see our events programme here http://ukie.org.uk/events
In addition, Ukie compiles weekly, monthly and annual retail charts and sales reports for the UK market.
Twitter: @uk_ie
Facebook: Ukie
