Coding more popular than French in the classroom

Computer programming is becoming increasingly popular in primary schools to the extent that Python has overtaken French as the most popular "language" despite negativity among secondary school students.

New stats released by Ocado Technology show that 60% of parents would rather their children study Python than French thus marking a growing movement towards an industry that is in dire need of workers.

The same cannot be said for secondary school kids where Computer Science GCSE is seen as an "easy option" by those looking for a smoother route into further studies.

"Unfortunately this is an example of a wider and more serious problem that we face in terms of Computer Science in the UK not being treated as the serious engineering discipline that it undoubtedly is," said Paul Clarke, Director of Technology at Ocado. "The irony is that this is at a time when we are facing a massive shortfall in the number of software engineers and IT specialists who will be required to help build out the UK's digital economy."

Radical changes

That in mind, Ocado Technology wants the government to make Computer Science a mandatory GCSE alongside the likes of Mathematics and English in order to encourage it to become highly thought of in secondary schools.

The UK made a radical change to its national curriculum less than a year ago that threw out Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and replaced it with a new "computing" curriculum that offers classes to kids as young as five.

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