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COMPUTER SCIENCE
from Sixth Form Booklet
In the modern world, solutions that require inputs from Computer Science are increasingly ubiquitous It is now a fundamental input into the success of most industries, from medicine, the entertainment industry and security finance The recent advances in AI have the most profound change in the world that we ’ ve seen in our lifetimes, and it is the job of Computer Scientists to ensure that we have ethical, computational and mathematical frameworks in place that facilitate these technologies In the A level course, you will learn the fundamentals of all of these
What is the course content?
The course comprises of the following key areas, designed to give a broad and academically challenging set of topics:
How is the course assessed?
° Paper 1 - 40% of the total mark for the courseThis paper tests a pupil’s ability to program, as well as their theoretical knowledge of computer science from subject content 1- 4 It is assessed by an onscreen exam lasting three hours Pupils answer a series of short questions and write/adapt/extend programs in an Electronic Answer Document One larger program is given to the boys to study as preliminary material
° Paper 2 - 40% of the total mark for the courseThis paper tests a pupil’s ability to answer questions from subject content 5-12 It is assessed by a written exam lasting three hours Pupils answer a series of short and extended answer questions
° Non-exam Assessment (Project) - 20% of the total mark for the course - Additionally, there is a nonexam assessment which assesses a pupil’s ability to use the knowledge and skills gained through the course to solve a practical problem Pupils will be expected to follow a systematic approach to problem solving, as shown in section 13
What else should I consider?
Although we can accept exceptional pupils who have not studied the subject at GCSE, it is a huge advantage to have studied it. Those that have not, need to invest considerable time in developing core GCSE programming skills over the summer There is a large proportion of the course that is highly mathematical and would favour pupils who think mathematically and enjoy solving puzzles and write code as a hobby
Pre-course material
Understanding the Python content on https://www w3schools com/python/ would be highly advantageous
