GCSE Computer Science

Exam Board: Edexcel

This new, up-to-date qualification reflects the fast changing world of Computer Science. Help students develop the computational skills they need for an exciting digital future beyond the classroom with:

an exciting, practical focus on real-life programming, developing skills relevant to the future
innovative, practical, future-looking onscreen assessments

Assessment

The Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9–1) in Computer Science consists of two externally-examined papers.

Paper 1 is a written examination (1hour 30 mins) and Paper 2 is a practical onscreen assessment (2hours). Both papers contribute 50% of the qualification.

Enrichment Opportunities

Visits to Canterbury Christ Church University/University of Kent, robotics and programming workshops, guest speakers, computing museum visit

Year 10

Terms 1 and 2

Programming constructs in Python

Algorithms and Flowcharts

Representing Data in Binary

Terms 3 and 4

Decomposing problems with Python

Standard Search and Sort Algorithms

Binary Arithmetic, hexadecimal

Terms 5 and 6

Design, test and refine programs with Python

Legal and Ethical issues

Cybersecurity and E-safety

Year 11

Terms 1 and 2

Data validation with Python

Representation of sound, images and text

Revision & Exam Skills

Terms 3 and 4

Computer Hardware, data storage and the CPU

Operating Systems and system software

Network Hardware and protocols