Computer Science

We are living in a Digital Age and computer programmes have infiltrated every aspect of our lives. Computer scientists theorise, design, develop, and apply the software and hardware for the programmes we use day in, day out. The Computer Science A Level will be useful in every industry. Problems in science, engineering, health care and so many other areas can be solved by computer scientists, who figure out how to resolve the problem and design the software to apply the solution.

Computer Science will focus on programming, build on our GCSE Computing and emphasise the importance of computational thinking as a discipline. Computational thinking involves taking a complex problem and breaking it down into a series of small, more manageable problems (decomposition). Each of these smaller problems can then be looked at individually, considering how similar problems have been solved previously (pattern recognition) and focusing only on the important details, while ignoring irrelevant information (abstraction). Next, simple steps or rules to solve each of the smaller problems can be designed (algorithms).

There will be an expanded maths focus, much of which will be embedded within the course. With computational thinking at its core, students will develop the skills to solve problems, design systems and understand human and machine intelligence. Students will be applying the academic principles learned in the classroom to real world systems in an exciting and engaging manner. This qualification will also give students a clear progression into higher education, as the course was designed after consultation with members of BCS (British Computing Society The Chartered Institute for IT), CAS (Computing At School) and top universities.

Computer Science is one of those fields where it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next. We cannot even begin to imagine all the ways that you can make a contribution to it and how it can make your life’s work exciting and real.