Oli Howson

BSc, PGCE, PGDip, MA

I am a qualified and experienced Computer Science teacher, having taught in South London and Oxfordshire as Head of a Successful Computer Science department. I have also led Computer Science for a trust of 50 schools at Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 (Secondary Level) as well as leading outreach work with Primary students.

Outside of teaching, I have collaborated on some of the most popular GCSE and A level computing textbooks. I have also consulted and delivered training for AQA, Hodder, Dubai College, the British Computer Society, Philip Allan, ZigZag, to name but a few.

I am also conducting research into the use of Virtual Reality with the Open University. Amongst other projects, I have presented at several conferences and was recently contracted to write a book on VR in Education for Routledge.

I am passionate about Computer Science, and I love sharing that passion with learners. I believe the skills we develop studying Computer Science, problem solving and decomposition, can help us in all subjects and all walks of life. I have supported students to progress to some of the top universities and computing related courses, and on to computing related careers. Their success has been a fantastic reward.

Outside of education, I still enjoy problem solving and programming for enjoyment. I cycle regularly and hike in the Lake District. I enjoy reading, with a particular penchant for Terry Pratchett and Tom Sharpe. I enjoy the occasional play on Elite Dangerous (in VR, obviously) and spending time with my young family.