Mission Statement

“To give all students the opportunity to develop computational thinking, information technology and digital media skills, in order to facilitate further and higher levels of study in these areas leading to qualifications which equip them for a professional career.” 

How we use computers and computer programs has defined the world we live in today. Computer scientists connect the abstract with the concrete, creating the products we use every day. A fundamental understanding of computing enables students to be not just educated users of technology, but the innovators capable of designing new computers and programs to improve the quality of life for everyone. Needless to say computer scientists are always in high demand. Computer science is a practical subject where students can apply the academic principles learned in the classroom to real-world systems. It’s an intensely creative subject that combines invention and excitement, and can look at the natural world through a digital prism.

Subject fundamentals

This section outlines the fundamental knowledge, understanding and skills, as outlined in the national curriculum, which underpin ours.

Key Stage 3

Throughout key stage 3 students will develop their computational thinking, information technology and digital media skills so that they:

  • design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems
  • understand several key algorithms that reflect computational thinking [for example, ones for sorting and searching]; use logical reasoning to compare the utility of alternative algorithms for the same problem
  • use two or more programming languages, at least one of which is textual, to solve a variety of computational problems; make appropriate use of data structures [for example, lists, tables or arrays]; design and develop modular programs that use procedures or functions
  • understand simple Boolean logic [for example, AND, OR and NOT] and some of its uses in circuits and programming; understand how numbers can be represented in binary, and be able to carry out simple operations on binary numbers [for example, binary addition, and conversion between binary and decimal]
  • understand the hardware and software components that make up computer systems, and how they communicate with one another and with other systems
  • understand how instructions are stored and executed within a computer system; understand how data of various types (including text, sounds and pictures) can be represented and manipulated digitally, in the form of binary digits
  • undertake creative projects that involve selecting, using, and combining multiple applications, preferably across a range of devices, to achieve challenging goals, including collecting and analysing data and meeting the needs of known users
  • create, re-use, revise and re-purpose digital artefacts for a given audience, with attention to trustworthiness, design and usability
  • understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting their online identity and privacy; recognise inappropriate content, contact and conduct and know how to report concerns.

Key stage 4

All pupils must have the opportunity to study aspects of information technology and computer science at sufficient depth to allow them to progress to higher levels of study or to a professional career.

All pupils should be taught to:

  • develop their capability, creativity and knowledge in computer science, digital media and information technology
  • develop and apply their analytic, problem-solving, design, and computational thinking skills
  • understand how changes in technology affect safety, including new ways to protect their online privacy and identity, and how to identify and report a range of concerns.

Overview of years 7, 8 and 9

Year 7 sequences of learning:

  • Digital Responsibility
  • Introduction to Computers and Programming in Scratch
  • Mobile App Development
  • Using media to gain support for a cause
  • Vector graphics

Year 7 Learning Journey – Autumn 1

Year 7 Learning Journey – Autumn 2

Year 7 Learning Journey – Spring 1

Year 7 Learning Journey – Spring 2

Year 8 sequences of learning:

  • Computing systems
  • Computer networks
  • Introduction to programming in Python
  • Data representation – from clay to silicon
  • Modelling data using spreadsheets
  • Media – animations

Year 8 Learning Journey – Autumn 1

Year 8 Learning Journey – Autumn 2

Year 8 Learning Journey – Spring 1

Year 8 Learning Journey – Spring 2 

Year 9 sequences of learning:

  • Cybersecurity
  • Data science
  • Python programming with sequences of data
  • Physical computing
  • Data representation – audio/visual
  • Multimedia projects – combining applications
  • Computers and the law

Year 9 Learning Journey – Autumn 1

Year 9 Learning Journey – Autumn 2

Year 9 Learning journey – Spring 1

Year 9 Learning Journey – Spring 2

Overview of Years 10 & 11

Computer Science programme of study

Students follow the OCR GCSE in Computer Science (9-1). The exam board is OCR.

There are two components in the GCSE specification. Component 01 covers computer systems, and Component 02 covers computational thinking and algorithms. The following explains the programme of study by year.

Year 10

Computer systems

Year 10 Learning Journey – Spring – Data Storage and Processing

Algorithmic literacy

  • In year 10, students study the following topics from component 01 (computer systems): systems architecture, memory, storage, networks, and ethical, legal, cultural and environmental concerns relating to technology.
  • They study the following topics from component 02 (computational thinking): standard algorithms, computational logic, and data representation.
  • They also complete practical programming tasks. Students are taught the Python programming language.

Year 11

  • In year 11, students study the following topics from component 01 (computer systems): network topologies, protocols and layers, system security, and system software
  • They study the following topics from component 02 (computational thinking): advanced algorithms, robust/defensive programming, and translators/facilities of languages.
  • They also complete more advanced programming tasks.

Examinations and assessment

The following information gives the examination and assessment breakdown for each component in the GCSE.

Component 01 – Computer Systems

1 hour 30 minute written examination (80 marks)

Worth 50% of the GCSE

Component 02 – Computational Thinking, Algorithms and Programming

1 hour 30 minute written examination (80 marks)

Worth 50% of the GCSE

Recommended textbooks

Please refer to the exam board web page on recommended textbooks:

https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/computer-science-j277-from-2020/textbooks/

Specifically, we recommend the PG Online text OCR GCSE (9-1) Computer Science J277 by Robson and Heathcote. ISBN 9781910523216.  For revision, we publish our own revision guides, however we also recommend the CGP GCSE Computer Science OCR Revision Guide (blue revision guide) available on Amazon. ISBN 9781789085563

Specification:

The exam board is OCR. The specification is here:

https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/computer-science-j277-from-2020/

Extra curricular opportunities

In the past these have included online CyberSecurity challenges such as Cyber Discovery (joincyberdiscovery.com), the CyberFirst girls competition (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberfirst/girls-competition), trips to industry-led events such as the Barclays IT girls coding workshop, and university organised events such as the University of Birmingham’s Maths & Computer Science Experience.