A Conversation With... Mr Pete Redrup

We caught up with one of the College's newest members of staff for this week's 'A Conversation With...' - Mr Pete Redrup, who is our Head of Computer Studies. In this feature, we learn about how Mr Redrup went from philosophy at university to teaching computing, as well as his thoughts on the rise of AI.

What is your role and how long have you been at Shiplake College? 

I'm the Head of Computer Studies and I started here in January 2024. As well as teaching computer science and cyber skills classes, I'm responsible for overseeing and developing both subjects.   

What were you doing before working here at the College? 

I was the Strategic Lead for Computer Science in two schools belonging to the Maiden Erlegh Trust, and before that, I was the Computer Science Subject Leader at a large school in Surrey.   

How are you settling into your new role at Shiplake? 

It's almost a cliché for these articles to say that everyone here is very friendly, but this is undeniably the case - I have been warmly welcomed by both staff and pupils. The food is also just as good as everyone says. With any new school, there are always many new systems to learn, and I think it takes a full run-through of a school year to fully settle in, but I am really enjoying myself so far.   

What is a day in the life like for you at Shiplake? 

I arrive by 7.30am to make sure all my lessons for the day are set up and ready to go before heading down to the Staff Common Room for a coffee. My timetable is different every day - it might start with assembly or chapel, then onto lessons. Different days include various meetings, duties and activities as well as my classes, so there's always considerable variety. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in computer science and in teaching? 

I studied philosophy at university and became a teacher because I enjoyed discovering the subject so much at Sixth Form but after a few years, I pivoted to IT which became ICT and then computing as the curriculum developed. I grew up in a house full of computers, starting with a Sinclair ZX81 in 1981, and have been a daily user of them ever since. My father was a vicar, but computing was his hobby, and he wrote a magazine column, and later a book, about adventure games so we had all sorts of different computer systems over the years. 

In my first job in the early 1990s, I was the only teacher to have regularly used the internet, and so found myself delivering training to all the staff when the school got a dial-up connection for a single machine in the library. I switched subjects in part because I love the constant development - there's always something new and exciting in computing.   

With the rise of AI and software such as ChatGPT, what do you think the future holds for the field of computer science and tech? 

This is a very interesting question and there's a danger that whatever I intended to say at the start of this sentence will already be out of date by the time I get to the end! I read an article today where over 50% of undergraduates in a survey admitted to using AI in their studies, so we can't pretend this is going to go away if we ignore it. There are already lots of tools that will write code for you, but these are quite unhelpful for teaching. When you already know how to code, they can save you time, but you need to understand what they produce in order to adapt it and to assess the suitability of the output. There's definitely a danger that some pupils might use these to complete coding tasks while studying and then find themselves in an exam where the only intelligence available is their own, which is undeveloped as a result of using AI tools. As with any computer-based tool, using AI appropriately is key to getting the best out of it. 

As a society I think we also need to pay attention to how AI is being used and what impact this might have on our creative industries. The idea that anyone can generate an image for a specific purpose in a few clicks is very appealing, but it would be a disaster if this made careers as an illustrator unviable. As for music, life as a musician is precarious enough already, and who wants to listen to tracks created by AI? 

What do you do outside of work? 

Evenings and weekends I like to spend time with my family, enjoying a meal together, playing games, listening to music or watching something. I love to cook for them, and when time permits will happily spend a few hours putting a nice meal together. I'm also very interested in coffee, and a controversially large area of the kitchen is occupied by a big espresso machine and grinder. I like gaming and try to find some time for this each week as it's a great way for me to unwind. 

What does the future hold for Mr Redrup? 

At the moment, I'm not looking much further than settling in here at Shiplake and seeing how to develop the Computer Studies Department.