STUDENTS at Accrington Academy have created their own computer games, following a ‘cutting-edge’ project to make ICT and homework more fun.

Led by the ICT department head Lindsey Dedaniec, 120 year nine students at Accrington Academy made individual games from scratch, using specialist technology.

The students were told they could not design violent games, but create ones that have an educational purpose.

Despite the strict guidelines, Lindsey said the boys in particular would spend hours and hours after school building them.

And as part of the ICT09-Mission Go course they used a virtual learning platform, ‘itslearning’, to work on the games in their own time.

Using ‘itslearning’ the students were able to view tutorials, notes and videos when they needed help after school.

By deadline day they had created countless problem solving games.

The students filmed themselves and loaded the footage into the games to give instructions to the players and created riddles to unlock keys to the next stage.

Lindsey, who was nominated for a global award from ‘itslearning’ after introducing the system into the Queen’s Road West School, said: “One of the challenges of teachers is to get homework out of students.

“But with this project we didn’t have that problem.

“The students carried on with their games in their own time. They had to create two levels and came up with different ideas. The students, the boys in particular, took the opportunity after school and would spend hours and hours working on them.

“This has been about carrying out research, learning theory and the curriculum, using something they are interested in.

The project has come as the Education Secretary Michael Gove announced he was scrapping the existing ICT curriculum and replacing it with a new course in Computer Science which teach industry-based skills.