Computer Studies / Computing

Course summary

We use computers in just about all of our daily lives, and whatever career you choose, computing will be part of it. Tech is a booming industry with many career paths to choose from. There are many jobs and careers in technology and IT, which an A-level in Computer Science will help you prepare for, including app design, programming, software development, project management, data analysis and many more. Or, you could simply take the course because you enjoy working with computers. The Computer Science A-level focuses on how computers work - at the level of where the ones and zeroes go and how those and zeroes make things happen. Computer Science works with logical thought and problem-solving. This is taught through programming as well as learning about how the hardware and software work. Computer Science will take you from being someone who may not understand much of how your digital devices work, to being someone who does know how these things work, and who can program them to do amazing things. In a digitally-orientated world, these skills can give you a massive advantage. The course, with its emphasis on abstract thinking, general problem-solving, algorithmic and mathematical reasoning, and scientific and engineering-based thinking, is an excellent foundation for further study. Course content • Computer systems • The internal workings of the central processing unit (CPU), data exchange, software development, data types and legal and ethical issues • Algorithms and programming • Using computational thinking to solve problems • Programming project - Students will be expected to analyse a problem, and design, develop, test, evaluate and document a program. The program must be written in a suitable programming language.