Young people need a new digital literacy qualification focussed on AI and modern tech skills, as part of reform to the school curriculum, according to BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

Pupils should be taught to get the best out of tools like ChatGPT, understanding their strengths and limitations, so they can succeed in life and modern careers, the professional body for computing said.

Responding to the Department for Education’s (DfE) Curriculum and Assessment review, BCS said that the current Computer Science GCSE works for just a narrow group of students due to its largely theoretical focus.

BCS analysis of DfE data found that 94% of girls and 79% of boys in England drop computing as soon as they can, at 14 years old. The lack of focus on practical outcomes puts off far too many students, the charity said.

The scope of the existing GCSE should also be broadened to include a focus on how AI is built, as well as its risks and opportunities – and do more to show teenagers the ways in which computing changes the world, the group said.

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“The computing curriculum is abstract and unmotivating, and it doesn’t show teenagers how the subject can be applied to solve the world’s big challenges,” Julia Adamson, MBE, managing director for education and public benefit at BCS, said.

“The key stage 3 curriculum and the GCSE need updating to reflect this and to include areas like AI and data analysis, as well as understanding of the huge social and economic impact of computing.

“All young people deserve to leave school digitally literate, or they’ll be left behind. This needs to be recognised in a new qualification that proves this and gives employers, universities and training providers confidence. It should go beyond low-level functional skills and include critical thinking about the opportunities and risks digital technology presents for the world.”