Computer Science

Introduction

At Christ’s College Finchley we see Computer Science as an essential subject for our learners and their future, and recognise the power it has to enhance and enrich the learning process as well as their future employment opportunities.

Computer Science is currently a subject of national importance and there are significant developments ahead. The department is currently focused in teaching Computer Science both at KS3 and 4. The department is committed to raising students’ aspirations and achievement and have a long, successful history of doing so.

The department offers excellent IT facilities, these include:

Three dedicated Computing teaching suites with 30 student networked desktop PCs
Wi-Fi access across the school site
Student access to Apple Macs
Adobe Creative Suite CS5 Web Standard
Interactive whiteboards and audio as standard in each teaching room
A Moodle-based learning platform
Google Apps for Education

Contact details

Please contact the Head of Department for more information. A full teaching staff list can be found under 'About Us' 'Staff and Governance'.

Head of Department: Ms Aydin Email: G.Aydin@ccfplus.com

What your child will be learning (curriculum mapping)

To view the Curriculum Overview document please click here.

To view the modules studied each term, please click here.

Aims and enrichment

Aims

The main aim of the department is to get students enthusiastic about Computing.

We have, what we believe to be, a very exciting curriculum which will get the students interested in studying Computing and encouraged to follow a career in the industry. The topics and tasks assigned to students aim to make a link between what they learn in the classroom and real life applications. Students learn how to program using Python, learn the basics of database management using MySQL, learn Linux as part of their controlled assessment and are encouraged to do so at home as well.

Future careers:

Database administrator
Games developer
Information systems manager
IT consultant
Multimedia programmer
Network engineer
Systems analyst
Systems developer

Enrichment

Lunchtime and after school Computing and ICT clubs
Coursework catch up sessions

As a member school of the Network of Excellence for computer science teaching we are committed to the development of computer science provision at our school.

Key stage 3

The key concepts of computational thinking – for example, thought process, abstraction, decomposition, algorithmic thinking, evaluation and generalisation – are embedded throughout the course.

By teaching the broader principles of computing – for example, binary, iteration in programming and computer architecture – through Compute-IT you we will be developing students’ computational thinking abilities. And, by developing students’ computational thinking abilities, we will provide them with the problem solving tools to approach programming tasks with confidence and to make the outcomes meaningful. We have therefore selected programming languages appropriate to the task and which facilitate teaching the concepts, rather than teaching a range of languages.

Year 7

Students have 2 computing lessons a fortnight and follow the Key Stage 3 Computing curriculum. Topics studied include: The Foundations of Computing, Under the Hood of a Computer, How the Web Works, Designing for HCI: a hand-held digital device, Designing for HCI: an operating system interface, Programming a quiz and a calculator.

Year 8

Students have 1 computing lesson a week and from September 2014 they will be following our revised Key Stage 3 Computing curriculum. Topics studied include: Operating systems, The command line, Binary, Instruction set design, Connecting to the internet, Programming using selection statements and Boolean expressions.

Year 9

Students have 1 computing lesson a week and from September 2014 they will be following our revised Key Stage 3 Computing curriculum. Topics studied include: Cracking the code: binary characters, cyphers and encryption, Client-side and server-side scripting, Digital circuits, Computer architecture, Creating an app to solve a problem.

Key stage 4

Exam Board: OCR

Studying Computer Science at Key Stage 4 is optional and from September 2014 students will be able to choose from GCSE Computer Science (9-1).

Computer Science (9-1) – J276

This specification/qualification will enable learners to develop:

valuable thinking and programming skills that are extremely attractive in the modern workplace
a deep understanding of computational thinking and how to apply it through a chosen programming language.

Pupils will develop critical thinking analysis and problem-solving skills, which can be transferred to further learning and everyday life. In this respect, the course provides excellent preparation for pupils who want to study or work in areas that rely on these skills, especially where they are applied to a technical problem, such as engineering, financial and resource management, science and medicine.

There are three components:

Computer systems (01)

This component will introduce learners to the Central Processing Unit (CPU), computer memory and storage, wired and wireless networks, network topologies, system security and system software.

It is expected that learners will become familiar with the impact of Computer Science in a global context through the study of the ethical, legal, cultural and environmental concerns associated with Computer Science. It is expected that learners will draw on this underpinning content when completing the Programming Project component (03 or 04).

Computational thinking, algorithms and programming (02)

This component incorporates and builds on the knowledge and understanding gained in Component 01, encouraging learners to apply this knowledge and understanding using computational thinking.

Learners will be introduced to algorithms and programming, learning about programming techniques, how to produce robust programs, computational logic, translators and facilities of computing languages and data representation. Learners will become familiar with computing related mathematics. It is expected that learners will draw on this underpinning content when completing the Programming Project component (03 or 04).

Programming project (03)

Pupils create solutions to computing tasks chosen from a set of options supplied by the exam board (controlled assessment); pupils will need to:

Programming techniques
Analysis
Design
Development
Testing and evaluation and conclusions

Pupils who want to go on to higher study and employment in the field of computer science will find that this course provides a superb stepping-stone. The increasing importance of computers and other technologies means there is a growing demand for professionals who are qualified in this area.

Assessment

Component 01 Computer systems: Externally marked question paper 50% :: 80 marks ::1 hr 30 mins
Component 02 Computational thinking, algorithms and programming: Externally marked question paper 50% :: 80 marks :: 1 hr 30 mins
Programming Project: Formal requirement Consolidates the learning across the specification through practical activity.

Key stage 5

Exam Board: OCR

Component 01 COMPUTING PRINCIPLES:

This component will be a traditionally marked and structured question paper with a mix of question types: short-answer, longer-answer, and levels of response markscheme-type questions. It will cover the characteristics of contemporary systems architecture and other areas including the following:

The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices
Software and software development
Programming
Exchanging data
Data types, data structures and algorithms
Legal, moral, ethical and cultural issues

Component 02 ALGORITHMS AND PROBLEM SOLVING:

This component will be a traditionally marked and structured question paper and will include a mix of question types: short-answer, longer-answer, and levels of response mark-scheme-type questions. There’ll be a short scenario/task contained in the paper, which could be an algorithm or a text page-based task, which will involve problem solving. Other areas covered include the following:

Elements of computational thinking
Problem solving and programming
Algorithms.

Assessment

Component 01 Computing principles: Externally marked question paper 50% :: 70 marks ::1 hr 15 mins
Component 02 Algorithms and problem solving: Externally marked question paper 50% :: 70 marks :: 1 hr 15 mins

A Level

Exam Board: OCR

Component 01 COMPUTER SYSTEMS:

This component will be a traditionally marked and structured question paper with a mix of question types: short-answer, longer-answer, and levels of response markscheme-type questions.

It will cover the characteristics of contemporary systems architecture and other areas including the following:

The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices
Software and software development
Exchanging data
Data types, data structures and algorithms
Legal, moral, cultural and ethical issues.

Component 02 ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING:

This component will be a traditionally marked and structured question paper with two sections, both of which will include a mix of question types: short-answer, longer-answer, and levels of response mark-scheme-type questions.

SECTION A: Traditional questions concerning computational thinking:

Elements of computational thinking
Programming and problem solving
Pattern recognition, abstraction and decomposition
Algorithm design and efficiency
Standard algorithms.

SECTION B:

There’ll be a scenario/task contained in the paper, which could be an algorithm or a text page-based task, which will involve problem solving.

Component 03 PROGRAMMING PROJECT:

External postal moderation or repository. Students and/or centres select their own user-driven problem of an appropriate size and complexity to solve. This will enable them to demonstrate the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the Assessment Objectives. Students will need to analyse the problem, design a solution, implement the solution and give a thorough evaluation.

Assessment

Component 01 Computer systems: Externally marked question paper 40% :: 140 marks :: 2 hr 30 mins
Component 02 Algorithms and programming: Externally marked question paper 40% :: 140 marks :: 2 hr 30 mins
Component 03 Programming project: Internally assessed :: externally moderated 20% :: 70 marks