COMPUTER SCIENCE

Year 9 Course Outline

In Year 9 pupils are taught an introduction to Computer Science and the foundations are laid for any pupil wanting to take Computer Science for GCSE. The year consists of a good mixture of Computer Science-based theory as well as practical programming elements on HTML and Python. At the end of the year pupils will be able to create a website from scratch using only HTML code and have developed their understanding of programming concepts and design. A key goal for this year is for all pupils to have GCSE level ability programming in Python.

Years 10 and 11 Course Outline

Pupils will study IGCSE Computer Science which is broken down into two main elements of Computer Science - Theory and Programming. These sections are broken down again to cover all aspects of Computer Science including data representation, communication and internet technologies, hardware and software, security and ethics. The practical programming element is broken down into algorithm design and problem-solving, pseudo code and flowcharts, programming concepts, data structures, arrays and databases.

Skills Required and Developed

In order to access all aspects of the course, pupils require good computer literacy including file management, familiarity with Microsoft Office applications and a basic knowledge of programming. In addition, this course will only be suitable for pupils with sufficient mathematical ability.

The key skills developed are the ability to design and write effective computer programs which solve given problems. In their solutions, pupils will be able to effectively validate input data, sequence instructions, manipulate, store and process data and represent the results of the processing in an appropriate format. They will be able to plan thorough systematic testing of programmed solutions.

External Assessment

Paper 1 Computer Systems Theory – 1 hour 45 minutes (50%). This written paper contains short-answer and structured questions. Paper 2 Algorithms, Programming and Logic – 1 hour 45 minutes (50%). This written paper contains shortanswer and structured questions.

Beyond the Classroom

Co-curricular opportunities are available throughout the academic year. The department runs a programming club, robotics club and also coding for girls each week during term time. We also take part in a variety of competitions and challenges such as Bebras, Oxford Computing Challenge, Perse Braben Cup and the elite British Informatics Olympiad.

Further Information

Mr H Stayte, Head of Digital Learning, Tel 023 9268 1399, Email h.stayte@pgs.org.uk

Exam board website: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-9-1-computer-science-0984/