Computer Studies / Computing

Course summary

A-level Computer Science is split into two sections, programming and theory. On the programming side of the course, students will learn the programming language Python. You will cover the fundamentals of programming, data structures, algorithms, and object-orientated programme design. The theory of Computer Science aims to teach about the internal workings of a computer, right down the basics of how all data is stored using binary, whether that be numbers, text, pictures or even music. It goes on from there to cover aspects of computer architecture, showing the specifics of exactly how data is accessed from main memory using assembly language instructions and the fetch-execute cycle. As well as covering programming, the course aims to promote good programming practices such as avoiding global variables, sensible variable naming, structured programming, good re-use of code through procedures and functions, and proper commenting of code. It also covers higher-level concepts such as the social and legal impact of computers, and how to go about breaking down a big problem into individual programmable steps.