ICT/ Computer Science

Summary: Students are taught Computer Science 2 periods over two weeks. Throughout Year 7 students are introduced to aspects of Computer Science and programming in order to bridge the experiences from Primary to Secondary school.

Ways of working & digital safety : The students are introduced to ways of being safe and responsible when using any online digital platform.  Then, they learn the four cornerstones of Computational thinking (abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition and algorithms) and develop their critical thinking and problem solving strategies using the ability to think logically, algorithmically and abstractly.

The under the hood of a Computer is a journey of discovery of how computers actually work. The pupils learn about the components making up a computing system including the motherboard, Central Processing Unit, memory, storage, input and output devices and different types of software.

The Game design with Scratch is a highly engaging unit giving students the opportunity to develop and design their own computer games while learning the programming concepts of constants and variables, sequencing, selection and iteration.

Programming with the Micro bit introduces the students to how software and hardware work together in a fun way, programming this micro-computer and consolidating their new acquired knowledge of block code programming. This unit offers opportunities for STEM learning, engaging students with various scientific concepts through computing technology.

Summary: Students are taught Computer Science 2 periods over two weeks. Students extend their knowledge, understanding and skills in Computer Science. They are made more aware of the ways in which appropriate tools and information sources can help them to apply their knowledge across all subjects and of ways of being safe and responsible online.

E-safety: The students learn ways of being safe and responsible when using any online digital platform and develop a deeper understanding of the potential dangers they may face online using different digital and social media platforms.

Small Basic programming introduces the students to their first text-based high level programming language giving them the opportunity to consolidate the concepts learnt in Y7 in a fun and productive way with the help of the Small Basic’s  Intellisense tool. The students complete a programming mini-project creating a self-marking quiz.

Data representation Unit teaches the students the way all the data, characters, images and sound are represented in digital form (binary format )in a computer system.

Web design : in this unit the pupils learn the basics of web design and HTML, the students creating a website including content and digital media as well as navigation links between the webpages and to external websites.

Modelling with spreadsheets teaches the students computer models of mathematical data by performing calculations, formulae and creating graphs and charts using spreadsheets.

Year 9

Summary: Students are taught Computer Science 2 periods over two weeks. Students further extend their knowledge, understanding and skills in Computer Science. They become more advanced in their computational thinking and programming knowledge, designing algorithms, using computers to solve problems and provide solutions.

Small Basic Programming Revisited allows students to consolidate their programming knowledge and to be introduced to iteration, procedural programming and graphics with small basic.

Binary & Hexadecimal systems further the students understanding of different numbers systems and binary arithmetic including multiplication and division.

Turtle with Python introduces the students to the most in demand programming language in the job market in a fun engaging way by creating graphics and visually appealing designs rather than text.

Cybersecurity introduces students to various threats to a network security including malware, Denial of Service, hacking, brute force attack, data interception, etc.

Ethical, environmental and legal implications of using digital technologies aims to build an understanding of the environmental issues generated by e-waste and energy consumption, ethical implications of the increase in use of AI, driverless vehicle and mass surveillance and the legislation related to IT.

Databases introduce the pupils to the concepts of relational databases and they build an understanding of inputting and validating data and creating queries and reports.

KS3 Assessment: Homework is issued fortnightly and it may include tasks to consolidate knowledge, research tasks, isolated pieces of work or alternative tasks which challenges the students to extend their knowledge and understanding.

At the end of each Term, the students undertake a formal  internal assessment, which will assess the student’s knowledge of all the topics taught throughout the Term.

Students are taught computing 3 periods over two weeks with an additional revision lesson.

They study the fundamental concepts of computing including applying Computational thinking strategies in designing efficient solutions/ algorithms to programming problems and then implementing them in a high level programming language. The students learn about systems architecture and systems  software.  

The pupils  build a secure knowledge of computer networks, digital communication using different transmission media and governed by various protocols and the threats to networks including malware social engineering and hacking. They learn prevention measures against these attacks and network policies for keeping networks secure.

Finally, they develop an understanding of the environmental issues caused by using digital technologies and the ethical and cultural implications caused by the use of AI, driverless vehicles, mass surveillance, big data and the digital divide.

Year 10

Year 11

Assessment

Component 1: Computer Systems -worth 50%

Component 2: Computational thinking, algorithms and programming -worth 50%

Additional Reading:

OCR Computing for GCSE –Hodder Education. By Sean O’Byrne and George Rouse.

ISBN 978-1-4441-7779-4

GCSE Computer Science for OCR Student Book Paperback – Student Edition, 30 Apr 2016 by David Waller (Author), Ann Weidmann (Consultant Editor)

OCR GCSE Revision. Collins Edition, by A Concise History: The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series    Paperback – 15 Jun. 2018 Paul E. Ceruzzi (Author) , Gildan Media, LLC (Publisher) (audiobook)

Coding for Kids Ages 9-15: Simple HTML, CSS and JavaScript lessons to get you started with Programming from Scratch by Bob Mather  | 19 May 2020

Useful websites:

www.ocr.org.uk

http://www.teach-ict.com/

https://senecalearning.com

https://cambridgegcsecomputing.org/

https://www.w3schools.com/

https://www.codecademy.com/

https://groklearning.com/launch/

Students are taught IT 3 periods over two weeks with an additional revision lesson.

This level ½ Cambridge National Certificate in Information Technologies focuses on data, how it is collected, used, processed interpreted and presented within the framework of an IT project life cycle.  Students learn in a practical way about the phases of the project life cycle and the documentation produced at the end of each phase.

The pupils learn about the impacts and consequences of different cyber-security attacks and various preventions measures. They are introduced to relevant IT legislation and must be able to apply this knowledge in different contexts.

It allows learners to be confident IT users across a range of digital technology, developing their transferable skills and knowledge to continue to be confident IT users with new technology as it emerges.

Year 10

Year 11

Assessment

Unit R012 is worth 50% - External Exam taken in Year 10.

Unit R013 is worth 50% - Controlled Assessment taken in Year 11.

Results are awarded on the following scale:

• Level 2 – Distinction* (*2), Distinction (D2), Merit (M2), Pass (P2)

• Level 1 – Distinction (D1), Merit (M1), Pass (P1) and Unclassified.

Additional Reading:

OCR Cambridge National in Information Technologies– Hodder Education. By Sonia Stuart and Brian Gillinder. ISBN 978-1-5104-2327-5.

OCR Cambridge National in Information Technologies – My Revision Notes. By Sonia

Stuart. ISBN 978-1-5104-232-2.

Useful websites:

www.ocr.org.uk

http://www.teach-ict.com/

https://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/

https://senecalearning.com

(Code: 5839 Unit equivalent to 1 A Level)

The course consists of 3 written exams and 2 controlled assessment task set by the centre and externally moderated by OCR exam board.

The students are taught ICT 6 periods over two weeks. They will study three mandatory units that are externally assessed. These are the Fundamentals of IT, Global information and Cyber security. Learners must then take two of the four optional units that are centre-assessed and moderated by OCR. The optional units include Project management, Product development, Systems analysis and design and the Internet of Everything. 

These 5 units should be completed over two years though students can just complete units one and two to achieve an AS by the end of year 12.

Assessment

Exam Board – OCR

Exam 1 – Unit 1 Fundamentals of IT - 20% of exam grade –Time allowed 1hr 30 mins

Exam 2 – Unit 2 Global information - 20% of exam grade –Time allowed 1hr 30 mins

Exam 3 – Unit 3 Cyber security          - 20% of exam grade –Time allowed 1hr

Coursework - 2 other units                 - 40% of exam grade

Additional Reading:

OCR Cambridge Technicals Level 3. Editor, Mo Everett, Saundra Middleton, Victoria Ellis, Graham Manson. ISBN 978-1-471-87491-8.

OCR Cambridge Technicals Level 3 – My Revision Notes. By Sonia Stuart. ISBN 978-1-5104-4231-3.

The course consists of two written exams and 1 controlled assessment externally moderated by the exam board. The students are taught Computer science 3 periods over two weeks.

They will study two Computing theory units:

Unit H46/01 Computing fundamentals

This unit provide the students with a good understanding of the workings and design of processors, computing components and Boolean algebra including logic circuits and logic gates including D-type flip-flops and half and full-adders.  It also helps learners develop an in-depth knowledge of different types of software, the methodologies used to develop them and how the data is represented and exchanged between different digital systems.

Finally, the students further their knowledge of networking and web technologies with an in depth understanding of communication protocols, search indexing and PageRanking algorithms. They are learning to create interactive webpages including webforms using the full range of web technologies: HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

 Unit H446/02 Algorithms and programming

The students lean advanced computer programming techniques, computational thinking and problem solving skills by employing backtracking, heuristic methods, performance modelling and pipelining as well as sorting and searching algorithms.  They further their knowledge of Abstract Data types such as queues, stacks, linked lists, graphs and trees and are able to implement their functionality in a high level programming language.

Finally, this unit prepares the pupils for further studies in CS by acquiring the basic concepts of Object Oriented Programming, a step from the procedural programming they have been familiar with.

Unit H446/03 Programming project

The students are expected to analyse, design implement, document test and evaluate a coded solution, solving a problem of their choosing and using a suitable high-level programming language. The software development methodology is Agile with different prototypes being implemented before the final design.

Assessment

Exam Board – OCR

Exam 1 - Unit H46/01 Computing fundamentals 40% of exam grade ( 2hr 30mins)

Exam 2 - Unit H46/02 Algorithms and programming  40% of exam grade (2hr 30mins)

Coursework – H446/03 Programming project 20% of exam grade, OCR externally moderated.

Additional Reading:

OCR AS and A Level Computer Science Paperback – 12 Sep 2016 by PM Heathcote (Author), R S U Heathcote

Heathcote, PM, Heathcote, R.S.U., OCR AS and A Level Computer Science Paperback, PG Online, 2016

Craddock, G,, Ellis V., Essential maths skills for AS/A level Computer Science, Hodder Education , 2016

Rouse, G., O’Byrne, S., My revision notes OCR A level Computer, Hodder Education, 2016

Machine Learning: The New AI (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series) Paperback – 7 Oct. 2016 by Ethem Alpaydin  (Author)

Corera, G. Intercept: The Secret History of Computers and Spies, Weidenfield & Nicholson, 2019

Tapscott, D.,Tapscott, A., Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies is Changing the World, Penguin, 2019

Useful websites:

www.ocr.org.uk

http://www.teach-ict.com/

https://www.pixl.org.uk/

https://isaaccomputerscience.org/login

https://www.w3schools.com/

https://www.codecademy.com/

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/index.htm

https://futurelearn.com