Computer science added to UK's English Baccalaureate qualification

Computer science has been added to Britain's English Baccalaureate (EBacc) qualification. The move was announced by Education Secretary, Michael Gove, who confirmed that it would be added alongside biology, chemistry and physics. Students working towards an EBacc can choose any three of the four sciences to meet the requirements of the qualification.

The Department for Education issued a statement on the matter, in which a spokesperson said, "We need to bring computational thinking into our schools. Having Computer Science in the EBacc will have a big impact on schools over the next decade.

"It will mean millions of children learning to write computer code so they are active creators and controllers of technology instead of just being passive users. It will be great for education, great for the economy, and will help restore the spirit of Alan Turing and make Britain a world leader again."

It's been a big week for computer science education in the UK, as Google bought and donated 15,000 Raspberry Pi micro-computers to British schools, in a bid to help encourage coding and technical studies at educational institutions across the country.

Responding to today's news, Google offered comment, "Today's announcement that computer science will be part of the EBacc marks a significant further investment in the next generation of British computer scientists."

What do you make of the move? Is it better late then never, or is now the perfect time to get children into coding and the technical aspects of computing?

Thanks GI.biz.