Girls Who Code

The events of 2020 highlighted more than ever before the growing reliance on digital technologies for work, study and social interaction. From company and information websites to communication platforms, there’s no doubt that huge leaps in understanding and usability were made over the past 18 months. Of equal importance over this period of time has been the ability of government and industry to display ‘agile thinking’ in the development of policies and plans, further highlighting the need to prepare our students with both content and skills prior to entering a complex workforce.

Toorak’s Agile Learning subject creates a unique environment where students work collaboratively to solve problems using a design thinking process and by prototyping potential solutions. There is a strong emphasis on building digital knowledge and skills within the computer aided design and coding fields and, as a core aspect of the year-long subject, Toorak College partners with CS in Schools to deliver an intensive coding course. This partnership includes working with industry experts from a range of companies, providing our students with insight into what careers in this field may look like.

I've always had a love for programming but I think it really came to light in Year 7 when we were able to partake in Technology classes. Throughout the Year 7 and 8 coding units, I was able to have fun whilst creating different programs. I'm hoping with the new coding elective that I'll be able to expand my knowledge of programming and learn new things whilst collaborating to solve problems with other students. Although I'm not entirely sure what I want to do in the future, I hope it has something to do with coding. With more and more occupations evolving and using programming in their everyday tasks, who knows! Daisy T, Year 9

New in Semester 2, 2021 will be the CS in Schools Year 9 course. Offered as an elective, CS Entrepreneurial Experience will allow students to build on their understanding of coding while working in partnership with Domain Real Estate and CarSales.com to create working websites or apps. Each ‘squad’ of students will be assigned an industry mentor who will guide them through the design and development process before they conclude their semester by ‘pitching’ their final digital product to the company.

It is exciting to see our students making their mark as digital creators for the 21st century.

Mrs Kate Brown - Deputy Head of Senior School, Academic Growth