Computer Studies / Computing

Course summary

This specification has been designed for students who wish to go on to higher education courses or employment where knowledge of Computer Science would be beneficial. One can study Computer Science and go on to a career in medicine, law, business, politics or any type of science. The content of this specification is up to date as well as shifting the emphasis in the direction of Computer Science and Computation. Students following this specification do not need to have any prior knowledge of Computer Science or ICT, although an interest in and/or previous experience of coding is essential. The course is not about learning to use tools or just training in a programming language. Instead the emphasis is on computational thinking. Computational thinking is a kind of reasoning used by both humans and machines. Thinking computationally is an important life skill. The study of computation is about what can be computed and how to compute it. Computer Science involves questions that have the potential to change how we view the world. For example, we may be computing with DNA at some stage in the future, with computer circuits made of genes.