Course Description

Computer Science is an academic and scientifically based course which teaches you how to program and problem solve. It is a continually growing and ever changing subject, influenced by the world we live in. The course will grow your understanding of programming concepts and develop your confidence and independence in creating complex programs. In the theory element of the course you will gain a deep understanding of computers work. If you are interested in how a computer works, how computer science is influencing society and problem solving, this course is for you.

Contact:	Mrs S Webster	Exam Board:	AQA
QAN:	60145699	Subject Code:	Cp

The Course at A Level

The course is split into programming and theory concepts. The course is made up of 3 components:

Course Breakdown:

Paper 1: On screen programming exam where you will need to create/adapt and extend programs which will also cover data structures, algorithms and theory of computation. Programming exam will be done in Python.

Paper 2: Written theory exam which will cover topics such as Data Representation, Computer Systems, Computer Architecture, Networks, Databases, Big Data and Functional Programming.

NEA: Practical project undertaken in Year 13 where you get to choose a problem and follow the system development lifecycle to be able to solve it.

Entry Requirements:

Grade 6 minimum in GCSE Maths

Whilst studying GCSE Computing is very useful for the course, it is not essential. Students who have not studied GCSE Computing should be aware of the additional work expected in order to develop programming skills in particular.

Possible Subject Combinations:

There are strong links between Maths and Computer Science and many students do choose both subjects. The skills in Maths naturally lend themselves to the programming and algorithm topics covered.

Students not studying Maths A Level, may wish to choose Core Maths as an AS to support this subject.

Where can Computer Science take me?

An A Level in Computer Science can support progression to Higher Education study in a range of Computer Science/ICT qualifications. Many Science and Engineering courses at university include elements of programming so an A Level in Computer Science could really help you in the future.

There are many career options open to you with an A-level in Computer Science, e.g. software engineer, system analyst, systems designer, project manager, network engineer, IT support , system security, games industry, programmer.

Assessment