Computer Science
“In the future there will be two types of jobs; jobs where people tell computers what to do, and jobs where people are told what to do by computers”
At Bradfield, we believe that the knowledge and skills acquired through the study of Computer Science are essential for a future in an ever-changing world. We aim to skill our students so that they can be part of a future generation who can control computer technology, rather than have it control them.
We are passionate and committed to providing the very best in computing education, and aim to teach the subject in an engaging and accessible way.
Key Stage 4 Curriculum Content
Students study the OCR specification. This course has been chosen as it is an engaging and practical course which encourages creativity and problem solving. The course is assessed through 2 exams and a practical task.
1. Computer Science
This unit covers the body of knowledge about computer systems and is assessed through a 90-minute exam. It covers the following topics:
· Systems Architecture
· Memory
· Storage
· Wired and wireless networks
· Network topologies, protocols and layers
· System security
· System software
· Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental concerns.
2. Computational thinking, algorithms and programming
Students will be introduced to algorithms and programming, and become familiar with computing related mathematics. This unit is assessed through a 90-minute exam:
· Algorithms
· Programming techniques
· Producing robust programmes
· Computational logic
· Translators and facilities of languages
· Data representation.
3. Programming Project
Students will undertake a practical task set by the exam board. They will be assessed in their ability to:
· Analyse and break down a problem
· Design algorithms to solve the problem
· Write and develop their own code
· Test and evaluate their own solution.