Should pupils learn more programming?

The teaching of computer science must become more relevant to modern needs, said the government.

The government said the current teaching of IT was "insufficiently rigorous and in need of reform".

The call for change came in a response to an industry report which looked at technology teaching in the UK.

Without reform future UK workers would lack key skills and the nation would lose its standing as a video games and visual arts hub, said the report.

The Next Gen report was published in October and criticised current ICT (information and communication technology) classes which tended to focus on how to use software rather than on how to write it.

Written by gaming guru Ian Livingstone and visual effects veteran Alex Hope, Next Gen called for programming skills to replace learning about business software in ICT lessons.

In its response, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the report had set out some "compelling" ideas about how to make the UK a hub for video games and visual effects.

Creative industries minister Ed Vaizey said computer games and the visual effects sectors had a clear economic and cultural value.