Computer Science

The Junior Computer Science curriculum aims to build foundations and confidence in digital literacy. Students learn about how systems and networks work, how to deal with data and information, how to create digital media and build their programming skills in a range of contexts. This includes projects on creating podcasts, building their own computer games and designing a smart school. Woven in amongst all of this is a constant focus on building the skills and awareness to keep themselves safe in an increasingly digital world, when working, socialising or having fun online.

In Year 7, students start by building strong foundations for programming and computational thinking skills by creating the game Pacman in Scratch – a block-based programming language that allows students to learn programming constructs without getting caught up in simple spelling mistakes. Students will then create sound effects to use within their game, learning the difference between analogue and digital sound and how it is represented on a computer. The year finishes with students designing a logo for their Pacman game using the vector-based drawing software Adobe Illustrator. Students will look at the differences between bitmap and vector graphics, and employ an iterative analysis and design process to create effective logos using complex shapes.

In Year 8, students focus on more advanced programming skills, making the transition from Scratch to Python by completing several programming projects, including a school report generator and games of chance. Students build on their algorithm design skills learnt in Year 7 by creating more complex flowcharts and using pseudocode, and will make use of functions to produce programs that are efficient and easily maintainable. Students will also investigate past, present and future computing technologies, as well as learning how to give an effective presentation using the digital resources available.

Students start Year 9 by investigating binary – how it works, how to convert between number systems, and designing and creating a program to perform that conversion. Students learn that everything a computer deals with is represented as binary – including characters, images and logic. Next, students design and create a text-based adventure game using functions to produce an ever-expandable game where players make decisions in order to survive the perils thrown at them.

In their final term, students answer the question ‘how does the web work?’ as they look at the difference between the ‘internet’ and the ‘world wide web’, as well as the techniques unscrupulous web developers use to trick users into giving up personal data. Students then design their own website using HTML and CSS following best practices and considering the needs of all users.

Students can choose to take GCSE Computer Science as one of their GCSE options. In the first year of the course, the focus is on algorithm design, programming constructs and programming skills with a mix of short tasks and more complex programming challenges. Students also look at the representation of data in computer systems and computer components.

In the second year of their GCSE course, students gain a theoretical understanding of networking in both design and defence, and consider the ethical, legal, cultural and environmental impact of digital technologies with topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), social media and legislation.

Students have the opportunity to study A level Computer Science in the Sixth Form. This two-year course builds on the topics studied in GCSE Computer Science and adds complexity, depth and additional topics, such as database design and web technologies.

The A level also includes a substantial programming project on an area of the student’s choice. Past projects have included physics modelling and AI handwriting recognition using neural networks.

A LEVEL COMPUTER SCIENCE