For Jonathan, moving to ISA in Grade 9 after living in Brazzaville was the start of an inspiring tech journey. Over his High School years, he discovered a passion for programming and cybersecurity, culminating in a place to study Ethical Hacking at Abertay University – a world-renowned leader in the field.
Jonathan reflects on his High School experience here:
“We chose ISA because the school’s values really appealed to my family and me. After starting online due to visa delays, I remember being nervous before my first day in person. However, my classmates were so kind – they helped me around campus and kept me company. The teachers were incredibly patient, seamlessly bridging the gap between online learning and the classroom.
My passion for computer science really grew through the IGCSE course. I remember struggling with Python coding early on, but feeling so proud when my code actually worked. As the programming tasks got more challenging, problem-solving started to feel natural, and I realised this was a pathway I wanted to pursue.
Taking IB Higher Level Computer Science was a big step up, but our teacher worked hard to make the course engaging. For my Internal Assessment project, I created a game for the school’s gardening club, which was a great hands-on experience in software development.
A major part of our IB syllabus covered ethical hacking – studying cybersecurity tools and learning how systems are defended. That’s what sparked my interest in the field. Ethical hacking allows you to protect businesses and people’s data, while opening up so many diverse career opportunities. I chose Abertay University because it was the first institution in the world to offer the degree, and seeing their hands-on projects during the open day was mind-blowing.
Beyond computer science, I really enjoyed Art, Combined Science, and French at ISA. Collaborative projects across my subjects also taught me how to problem-solve in teams, which is a massive part of working in cybersecurity.
My advice for any students interested in tech is to start building a portfolio early. It doesn’t have to be anything complex right away – just take it one step at a time, build on what you learn, and keep exploring.”
