Computer Studies / Computing

Course summary

01 COMPUTER SYSTEMS Computer Systems will cover the characteristics of contemporary systems architecture and other areas including the following: The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices • Software development • Exchanging data • Data types, data structures and algorithms • Legal, moral, cultural and ethical issues. 02 ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING Elements of Computational Thinking • Programming and problem solving • Pattern recognition, abstraction and decomposition • Algorithm design and efficiency • Standard algorithms. 03 PROGRAMMING PROJECT Students and/or centres select their user-driven problem of an appropriate size and complexity to solve. Students will need to analyse the problem, design a solution, implement the solution and give a thorough evaluation. This course will be relevant to the modern and changing world of computing. It will focus on programming, building on GCSE Computing and emphasising the importance of computational thinking as a discipline. It will have an expanded maths focus, much of which will be embedded within the course. Students will be able to apply the academic principles learned in the classroom to real-world systems excitingly and engagingly.