A Level Computer Science
Overview
A Level Computer Science will develop computational thinking, helping learners to gain the skills to solve problems, design systems and understand the power and limits of human and machine intelligence.
Through the study of Computer Science at A Level, students will have the opportunity to apply the academic principles learned in the classroom to real-world systems. The course covers the fundamental concepts of Computer Science, including abstraction, decomposition, logic, algorithms and data representation. Students will recognise how to analyse problems in computational terms through the practical experience of writing programs to do so.
It’s an intensely creative course combining invention and excitement, requiring the capacity to think innovatively, analytically, logically and critically. The ability to understand the relationships between different aspects of Computer Science is beneficial, in addition to mathematical skills, which are embedded throughout the course.
“The theory learnt in Computer Science lessons helps engage in practical applications of real-life analytical systems, and the fun programming projects give you an experience of what software development is really like. The resources provided in Computing are great and enable me to further my studies in my own time."
Course Structure and Content:
The course has an emphasis on problem solving using computers, computer programming and algorithms. It also develops mathematical skills used to express computational laws and processes, for example Boolean algebra/logic and algorithm comparison.
Component 1
- The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices.
- Software and software development
- Exchanging data
- Data types, data structures and algorithms
- Legal, moral, cultural and ethical issues
Component 2
- Elements of computational thinking
- Problem solving and programming
- Algorithms to solve problems and standard algorithms
Programming Project
The learner will choose a computing problem to work through according to the guidance in the specification.
- Analysis of the problem
- Design of the solution
- Developing the solution
- Evaluation
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Assessment:
At the end of the Lower 6th, students sit an exam on all of the Lower 6th content. This does not count towards the final grade, but assesses the content at this half-way point before progression to the Upper 6th. The final assessments at the end of the Upper 6th are as below:
- Assessment 1 - 40% 2 hours 30 minutes written paper based on Component 1 (140 marks)
- Assessment 2 - 40% 2 hours 30 minutes written paper based on Component 2 (140 marks)
- NEA - 20% Programming Project (70 marks)
Examination Board:
The course followed is the OCR Computer Science H446A (repostitory)
Future career opportunities:
- Degree or Degree Apprenticeship in Computer Science
- Cybersecurity
- Game Design
- Data Analysis
- Artificial Intelligence