Computer Science

Computer Science Summary

Computer Science is the forefront of the technology revolution. Software Developers, Game Developers, Application Designers, Online Banking. A-Level Computer science is the first step towards developing the relevant skills and experience to pursue a future career in the world of computing. From developing complex programs to understanding complex binary, learn and understand the language of computers. Also investigate the ethical, moral, legal, cultural and economic issues around the computing industry and how that impacts society, with discussions on AI, the laws around computing and the opportunities to research issues. The subject also provides the opportunity to experience more interactive ‘unplugged’ activities to develop a deeper understanding into computing concepts. 

Entry Requirements

Grade 6 GCSE Computer Science and 5 in GCSE Maths

Course Duration

2 years full-time

Specification

OCR

How you will study

Computer Science is about developing practical programming skills and theoretical knowledge of computers and programming during this course. Topics of study include programs, data structures, algorithms, logic, programming methodologies, computer architecture, communication, data representation, organisation and structure of data, programs, algorithms, and software applications. The subject also provides the opportunity to discuss, investigate, design, prototype, refine and implement, test and evaluate a computerised solution to a problem they have chosen.

Component breakdown

Component 1 – Computer Systems – 40% – 2hr 30mins exam 

This component will introduce learners to the internal workings of the Central Processing Unit (CPU), the exchange of data and will also look at software development, data types and legal and ethical issues.
It is expected that learners will draw on this underpinning content when studying computational thinking, developing programming techniques and devising their own programming approach in the Programming project component.  

Component 2 – Algorithms and programming – 40% – 2hr 30mins exam 

This component will incorporate and build on the knowledge and understanding gained in the Computer systems component (01).
In addition, learners should:  

• Understand what is meant by computational thinking.  

• Understand the benefits of applying computational thinking to solving a wide variety of problems.  
• Understand the principles of solving problems by computational methods.  
• Be able to use algorithms to describe problems.  
• Be able to analyse a problem by identifying its component parts. 

Component 3 – Programming project (non-examined assessment) – 20% coursework 

Learners will be expected to analyse, design, develop, test, evaluate and document a program written in a suitable programming language. The underlying approach to the project is to apply the principles of computational thinking to a practical coding problem. Learners are expected to apply appropriate principles from an agile development approach to the project development. While the project assessment criteria are organised into specific categories, it is anticipated the final report will document the agile development process and elements for each of the assessment categories will appear throughout the report. 

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