Year 9 Options - Computer Science

WHY THIS SUBJECT IS IMPORTANT

Things have come a long way since Charles Babbage planned his Difference Engine in the 1820s. Computing devices now dominate the modern world. It is arguably the most significant technology of the 21st century. If you want to be involved in the use and direction of this technology (with all the benefits for your career that this would involve) then a GCSE in Computer Science would get you in on the ground floor.

WHAT WILL I STUDY?

Computing is technical! What follows is a short description of what you will study. By the end of the course you will understand all the phrases in the table below.

An introduction to computer systems. This includes:

Computer Systems architecture (including CPU, RAM and storage).
Wired and Unwired Networks (including topologies, protocols and layers).
System Software and Security.
Ethical, Legal, cultural and environmental issues.

An introduction to programming, computational thinking and the software development lifecycle. This includes:

Designing Algorithms.
Programming techniques which allow the construction of robust programs.
Computational Logic.
Computer translation.
Data representation.

You will learn how to design, code and test your own computer programmes. As part of this you will study the high level programming language, Python. Initially we start with smaller programming tasks in class and encourage you to program larger projects beyond the lesson. In the classroom, we use a mixture of formally taught lessons and tutorial “cookbook” style lessons. This is heavily supported by resources placed on Google classroom and on our own department website. Beyond the classroom, we follow an organised homework schedule which augments your “in class” learning. This starts with “classroom learning videos” which we watch before the lesson. It moves onto individual GCSE questions which you complete entropically and hand in via google classroom.

You need an interest in computing and maths. Above all however, you need to be highly motivated and willing to put in the work, both in class and at home, to get a good result.

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?

2 external exams (length 1.5 hrs) 100%

You can find further details on our course by checking for GCSE Computer Science course (code : J277) on the OCR examination website.