KS4 Computer Science

GCSE Computer Science encourages students to think creatively, innovatively, analytically and logically. There is an emphasis on problem solving. Students learn how to analyse problems and devise creative solutions. They will understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of Computer Science, including abstraction, decomposition, logic, algorithms, and data representation. The course is a mixture of theory and practical experience. Programming develops problem solving skills, including designing, writing, testing and debugging programs. At APS we use the Python programming language.

The theoretical parts of GCSE Computer Science encourage students to develop their understanding and application of the core concepts. They will learn about and understand the components that make up digital systems, how they communicate with one another and with other systems and the impacts of digital technology to the individual and to wider society. They will also develop and apply mathematical skills relevant to Computer Science.

Exam board:

OCR

Number of exams:

2 in total

• Computer Systems (90 minutes - Written paper)
• Computational thinking, algorithms and programming (90 minutes - Written paper)

What is the structure of our curriculum?

This course focuses around two key topics. The core knowledge for each can be seen in the documents linked below:

• Computer systems core knowledge
• Computational thinking, algorithms and programming core knowledge

The structure of the curriculumis shown below.

The curriculum for both Year 10 and Year 11

Why is the course sequenced this way?

In Year 10 the students cover the Computational thinking, algorithms and programming paper as it provides practical activities. It also develops the logical and analytical thinking skills required for the rest of the course. In Year 11 the students cover the Computer Systems paper as it is more theoretical and requires a higher level of mathematical understanding. Year 10 ends with Networks and Cyber Security which is one of the largest growth industries in the 21st Century. We finish Year 11 with the Ethical, Cultural, Legal & Environmental topic which provides the general context on why Computing is important to society. 

The actual teaching times for topics will depend on various factors including:

1. i) the amount of practical work done within each topic;
2. ii) the emphasis placed on development of practical skills;

• iii) the use of contexts, case studies and other work to support depth of understanding and application of knowledge and understanding;

How will I be assessed?

• Regular questioning of students to cement understanding
• Regular exam questions in lessons to test computational skills
• Practical programming tasks based on real life scenarios
• Proof of understanding the key vocabulary
• Longer written tasks to test how to structure knowledge logically
• End of unit mock exams to consolidate topics covered so far