Level 3 IT students from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College (QE), Darlington, have visited the North East’s newest entertainment complex and received a personalised tour from the department’s Employer Champion, Andrew Read. Level X, located in Middlesbrough, offers a futuristic insight into the world of gaming and Andrew, who is also Managing Director of IT company, Resilient Business Systems, maintains their Internet infrastructure. During the tour, the group were able to analyse the role of the Internet in Level X’s operations before taking inspiration for their current coursework topic, The Internet of Everything, which challenges them to create a new application. Later this year, the students will pitch their applications to potential stakeholders and use the feedback they receive to revise their proposal with the final submission counting towards their overall coursework grade.
James Steven, who studies A Level English Language, History and IT at QE, comments: ‘The trip highlighted the many possibilities that are available when working with the Internet and really helped me determine a focus for my coursework’. Andrew Read adds: ‘It was great to show the students the ‘behind the scenes’ workings that allow Level X and Resilient Business Systems to deliver their exceptional service to the public. I’m delighted that they have been able to use the visit to embrace their coursework. I look forward to seeing the ideas that they come up with, and who knows, we could have a Dragon’s Den millionaire in the making.’
Paul Wearmouth, Course Leader for IT at QE, concludes: ‘It was a brilliant day out as not only were the students able to engage with our Employability Champion and observe him in his day-to-day role, but they also obtained encouragement for their coursework. We’d like to thank both Andrew and Level X for the tour and of course, we made sure that there was just enough time to test out the brand new bowling alley.’
