Years 9-11

Computer Science

Year 9

The year 9 Technology curriculum has three objectives: to teach the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum for Computer Science; to equip students with a platform of skills and knowledge required to access the GCSE syllabus; and to give students an understanding of technology which can be transferred to any other subject within the school.   

Students will be taught the material in two strands: Computer Science (CS) and Information Technology (IT) each for two lessons per week.  In CS lessons students will study modelling, computational thinking, algorithm design/development and how a computer works at a low level. 

National Curriculum Topics

In Computer Science lessons, students will be taught to:

Design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems
Understand several key algorithms that reflect computational thinking (for example, ones for sorting and searching); use logical reasoning to compare the utility of alternative algorithms for the same problem
Use 2 or more programming languages, at least one of which is textual, to solve a variety of computational problems; make appropriate use of data structures (for example, lists, tables or arrays); design and develop modular programs that use procedures or functions
Understand simple Boolean logic (for example, AND, OR and NOT) and some of its uses in circuits and programming; understand how numbers can be represented in binary, and be able to carry out simple operations on binary numbers (for example, binary addition, and conversion between binary and decimal)
Understand the hardware and software components that make up computer systems, and how they communicate with one another and with other systems
Understand how instructions are stored and executed within a computer system; understand how data of various types (including text, sounds and pictures) can be represented and manipulated digitally, in the form of binary digits

Year 9 Lesson Objectives and Project Details

Autumn Term: maths, decomposition and programming

Student will study mathematics related to computer science including binary addition, bit shifts and hexadecimal. They will also start to develop their decomposition, planning skills using flowcharts and programming using a BBC Microbit.

Spring Term: Logic, compression and animation

During the spring term will build on the knowledge and skills developed in the autumn term. Students will study logic gates, truth tables, Boolean algebra and designing basic circuits using AND, OR and NOT gates. In the second half of the term students will study the construction and compression of image and sound files and basic cryptography. Along side the theory students will use p5js (Java Script) to design and develop animations.

Summer Term: CPU structure and interface design

In the summer term will learn the theory of CPU architecture and the stored program concept. They will also further develop their programming skills by using Small Basic to develop user interfaces and solve mathematical problems.

GCSE Computer Science

We aim to develop the knowledge and skills required for our students to play an active role in the digital world that surrounds them. Developing a firm grasp of computing concepts will help them get the best from the systems they use, solve problems when they go wrong and develop new systems when they are required.

We believe all students will find it empowering to study a combination of computational thinking, computing principles and a computational approach to problem-solving. The ability to focus this combination of academic and practical skills on a problem will help bring success in all curriculum subjects and the CAST challenge projects.

There can sometimes be confusion about the differences between IT and Computer Science. Computer Science refers to the processes used to create usable computer programmes and applications together with all the theory behind those processes. Information Technology, on the other hand, refers to the application of computer programmes to solve problems.

Computing in industry is essentially a practical subject which applies theory to design and develop products for clients. With this in mind, we have developed our curriculum to reflect modern business practice. Most learning is delivered through projects, which involve project management, teamwork, report writing and the use of industry standard tools.

Content

In Year 10 and 11 students follow the OCR Computer Science Specification. The course aims to develop students' understanding and practical application of computational thinking, problem-solving and theoretical knowledge of Computer Science.

This course material covers 11 taught sections over two components:

Component 1:

Systems Architecture
Memory & Storage
Computer Networks, connections and protocols
Network Security
Systems Software
Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental impacts of digital technology

Component 2:

Algorithms
Programming fundamentals (using VB.net and SQL)
Producing robust programs
Boolean logic
Programming languages and Integrated Development Environments

Each component is assessed with a 1hr 30minute written paper.

GCSE course progression

Year 10

Autumn Term - develop understanding of algorithms and programming using Visual Basic, covering: variables, arrays, selection, subroutines/functions, for and while loops. They will work through a variety of projects including: a grade calculator; a programme using functions to calculate the area of different shapes; and a traffic light simulation. Students finish the term by using their new skills to design and develop a Dungeons and Dragons game.

Spring Term - start with several new programming constructs: string manipulation, random numbers, records and 2-dimensional arrays. We also broaden the focus of the course to include machine architecture, Boolean algebra and logic circuits. Students design and develop a 'Computer versus Human' battleships game.

Summer Term - students will complete projects which will provide them with the practical programming skills they will need for these exams and for further study of Computer Science. The projects include creating a garden design budget calculator and an encryption project. Also, we will start to focus on the theoretical aspects of the course, which will cover machine code, search and sort algorithms.

Year 11

We start with a recap of the coding constructs students have learnt in Year 10. Students will then begin learning the remaining theory needed for the course whilst building on their programming skills. It is important that students understand the context for applying the theory they are learning. With this in mind, we have developed projects and tasks that allow our learners to see how Computer Science affects the wider world:

Networking and network security. Students are given a plan for a two-story building and asked to design a secure physical network suitable for a Computer Science company. They will cover network topologies, protocols, and security.
Extending project 1. Students focus on the protocols need to run a network by developing an interactive presentation covering TCP/IP.

In the Spring term students design a series of public information posters that cover aspects of cyber security, including social engineering, malware, ethical hacking. The final task of the year is to research and create a presentation that explains the ethical, legal and environmental responsibilities that Computer Scientists have in the modern world.

Resources

BBC Bitesize

Craig ‘n’ Dave