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Building Innovative Minds Without Limits
Our aim is to provide students with an exciting curriculum that will enrich their knowledge of key concepts relating to ICT, Multimedia and Computer Science. Whether it is programming applications, creating graphics or learning how to stay safe online, our offer at KS3/KS4 has elements to meet the needs of every student.
The department’s main aim at KS3 is to build confident users of ICT who are not afraid to think outside the box, using technology to come up with their own creations based on a wide range of real world problems. Using technology safely is at the for-front of our planning, due to the ever growing use of technology in society.
Year 7:
Year 8:
Year 9:
Students will complete an assessment at the end of each half-term based on the topic covered. Assessments will either take the form of a knowledge based test of creative project based on a given brief.
All assessments will be awarded a mark out of 25, which will correspond to a topic outcome grade. Current performance is determined by averaging the outcomes across all completed topics and comparing them with school and national trends. Students will then be issued with a personal learning checklist that highlights the elements topic that they can improve on and sets additional tasks to support their learning.
“Do you have what it takes to be a White Hat Hacker of the future?” Computer Science has become a very high-profile subject over the last few years. The ability to program solutions using both machine and high level programming languages has become a sought after skill in a wide range of industries. Computing is of enormous importance to the economy, and the role of Computer Science as a discipline itself and as an ‘underpinning’ subject across Science and Engineering is growing rapidly.
Computer technology continues to advance rapidly and the way that technology is consumed has also changed at a fast pace over recent years. The growth in the use of mobile devices and web-related technologies has exploded, resulting in new challenges for employers and employees. The government has recently invested heavily in training ‘programmers of the future’ to meet the ever growing demand for people that demonstrate the skills necessary to maintain the UK’s tradition of being a front runner in the industry, whilst placing additional emphasis on cyber security. GCSE Computer Science will help you to build on the knowledge gained in KS3, whilst introducing you to additional concepts that underpin the subject.
The qualification will take you on a journey from the integral system architecture that make up a computer system, to the world of cyber security and the methods that industry professionals are using to combat crime. You will be given hands-on experience of building a computer system, writing and perfecting your own algorithms/programs and considering the computational logic required for a computer system to work.
Paper 1 – Computer Systems (50%)
Paper 1 focuses on your knowledge and understanding of how different system components work, forms of networks and their security and legal, ethical, cultural and environmental considerations.
Paper 2 – Computational Thinking, Algorithms and Programming (50%)
Paper 2 is split into two sections:
Section A – Tests your knowledge and understanding of a range of hands-on topics such as algorithms, binary logic and consideration when building a robust program.
Section B – Tests your ability to write/refine algorithms based on your knowledge of key concepts relating to high level programming languages covered in lesson.
The main aim of the qualification is to open your mind to how the power of computers can be harnessed to help solve a wide range of problems. Building computational thinking skills is essential in today’s society and it is hoped that all learners taking the course will not only learn the theory behind how computer systems work, but will gain a new insight into algorithm and application design that may benefit them in the future.
Access to a computer at home
A subscription to SmartRevise (Please note – Your teacher will provide further details when you start the course)
A OCR GCSE Revision Guide (Please note – Your teacher will provide further details when you start the course)
Building aspirations is at the forefront of everything that we do in Computer Science with 7/10 of the richest people in the world earning their fortune from ideas relating to the use of computer systems.
We will consider the ethical and moral considerations relating to the use of computer systems, including the impact of e-waste on developing countries. The course will not only aim to build entrepreneurs of the future, but will hopefully help you to become a generation that thinks of the wider impact of the use of technology.
The Computer Science qualification has an endless list of possibilities including: Computer programming, Software engineering, Website/app design/development, Computer game development, Cybersecurity.
Your teacher will be happy to share knowledge of linked professions with you.
You can find out more about the qualification via our ICT and Computing HUB or the OCR qualification website.
