A Level Computer Science

Kings Ely sixth form

Academic

A Level Computer Science

There is a world out there just bursting with invention and opportunities and 90% of it is driven by computers.

 

Computer Science is about what goes on inside the single most powerful tool of the world we live in.

Science, technology, manufacturing, research, medicine - you name it, computer science influences and affects everything we do. 

Studying Computer Science will help you develop a new range of skills from problem solving to information analysis and computational thinking.

This A Level course explores things like ‘What is a computer?’, ‘What is programming all about?’. How can a computer solve every day problems?’ and how to bridge the gap between the problem we are trying to solve and what the computer ‘understands’.

You will learn how to program in a high level programming language as well as gain an understanding of low level languages including machine code.

Prerequisite

Minimum requite grade 7 in GCSE Maths.
Topic Overview

 

Module: Paper 1

Fundamentals of programming

Fundamentals of programming Features of imperative High Level Language programming practice which explores data types, procedures and functions, file handling, data structures and validation.

Fundamentals of data structures

Fundamentals of Data Structures Arrays, fields, records, trees, graphs, queues, stacks, lists, hashing, vectors.

Fundamentals of algorithms

Fundamentals of Algorithms Searching, sorting, graph and tree traversal, optimization.

Theory of computation

Theory of Computation Abstraction and automation, regular languages, context free languages, models of computation, Turing machines.

Module: Paper 2

Fundamentals of data Representation

  • Number systems, number bases, binary, coding systems, representation of image and sound.

Fundamentals of computer Systems

  • Hardware and software, classification of languages, translators, logic gates and Boolean algebra.

Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture

  • Internal components of a computer, the stored program concept, external hardware devices.

Consequences of uses of Computing

  • The moral, ethical and cultural consequences.

Fundamentals of communication and networking

  • Network topologies, transmission protocols.

Fundamentals of databases

  • Conceptual data models, normalization, SQL, client server databases.

Big Data

  • Fundamentals of functional programming Paradigms, list processing, problem solving.

Module: Paper 3

Computing practical project

  • Students will be expected to follow a systematic approach to problem solving, demonstrating their skill to analyse, design, implement, test and evaluate a substantial computer based task undertaken over an extended period.
Assessment 

 

The two year A Level Computer Science course is assessed by three papers: two externally assessed and one internally assessed project.

Paper 1 - this paper tests a student’s ability to program, as well as their theoretical knowledge of Computer Science. Students answer a series of short questions and write/adapt/extend programs in an electronic answer document.

  • Fundamentals of programming
  • Fundamentals of data structures
  • Fundamentals of algorithms
  • Theory of computation

2.5 hour on-screen examination - 40% of A Level

Paper 2 - this paper tests a student’s ability to answer from the subject content and consists of compulsory short - answer and extended - answer questions.

  • Fundamentals of data Representation
  • Fundamentals of computer Systems
  • Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture
  • Consequences of uses of Computing
  • Fundamentals of communication and networking
  • Fundamentals of databases
  • Big Data Fundamentals of functional programming

2.5 hour on-screen - 40% of A Level

Paper 3 - Computing practical project.

20% of A Level - Internally assessed and externally moderated by AQA

Computer Science A Level Exam Specification

 

Meet the HEAD OF COMPUTER SCIENCE 

Marc Hawes

OriginalImage,Original

EMAIL ELISABETH TYRRELL

 

 

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