Computer Science

Assessment

Component 1 - Computer Systems (written exam worth 40% of course marks): Aims to provide students with a deeper knowledge of topics studied at GCSE level such as the characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices; Software and software development; Exchanging data; Data types, data structures and algorithms; Legal, moral, cultural and ethical issues. There is an emphasis on databases and web technologies. Component 2 - Computational thinking, algorithms and programming (written exam worth 40% of course marks): Aims to provide students with a deeper knowledge of topics studied at GCSE level such as algorithms. Students seek to apply the knowledge and understanding gained in component 1. They develop skills and understanding in computational thinking; Problem solving and programming; Algorithms to solve problems and standard algorithms. Practical Programming project (NEA worth 20% of course marks): As part of the course, students must undertake an extensive programming project, working independently to solve a real-world problem. The project involves analysis of the problem at hand; design of the solution; developing the solution; testing and evaluating the solution. Students are expected to use a test-driven approach and work with a real client. This work takes place between June of Year 12 and February of Year 13.