BBC Computer Literacy Project 1980

Re:BBC Computer Literacy Project 1980 – 1989 by DanBC on Thursday March 26, 2020 @05:12AM (#22691745)

I was born in 1969 and our school had computer literacy O Levels that included BASIC programming on a Research Machines Link 480Z. (This would have been in 1985 / 1986)

A few years later I went back for an open day and they'd moved to PCs, but reduced the programming content.

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Re:BBC Computer Literacy Project 1980 – 1989 by Wildgoose on Thursday March 26, 2020 @01:40PM (#22695964)

I did that O Level without actually doing the course.

I paid £4.50 to sit the exam sight unseen, did the programming exercises and got a grade B.

Just saw it as a cheap and easy qualification. :-)

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Re:BBC Computer Literacy Project 1980 – 1989 by UncleSlacky on Thursday March 26, 2020 @04:54PM (#22697881)

We were told not to bother with Computer Science O-levels, as nobody took any notice of them, at least for sixth-form admissions. As far as I could tell, they seemed to consist largely of binary maths anyway - far better to concentrate on getting better grades in Maths & Physics instead.

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Re:BBC Computer Literacy Project 1980 – 1989 by Wildgoose on Thursday March 26, 2020 @05:40PM (#22698270)

I was doing my A-Levels at the time, (Maths, Further Maths, Physics, plus the compulsory "General Studies"), prior to going to University to read "Computational Science".

I remember not being impressed, (so you're right), but I was a working class kid who'd had it drummed into him that qualifications of any kind were a passport to a professional career.

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