Introduction
Computer Science is a challenging course. At its heart it requires you to solve problems. Not just mental problems like Sudoku, or the Towers of Hanoi, but human problems too. Computer Science is a special subject that crosses the boundaries of other subjects. It is a humanities subject as well as a science and a branch of mathematics. Behind the algorithms and the technology there is also a fascinating story of human achievement.
Where does it lead?
You can study Computer Science for a lot of reasons; it can be seen as a passport to a university course or a career. You will be likely to succeed if you find the subject interesting and you expect to have fun doing it. Writing computer programs gives you ’instant feedback’, teaches you to persevere with problems and great satisfaction once they are finally overcome.
Course details
The characteristics of processors, input, output and storage devices. Software and software development. Problem solving and programming. Exchanging data. Data types, structures and algorithms. Legal, moral, ethical and cultural issues. Computational thinking. Programming problems covering analysis, design development of a computing problem.
Assessed with two 2 hour 30 minute written papers each totalling 40% of the total A Level mark and a Programming project worth 20%.