Resources4Learning.org : GCSE Computer Science
Introduction
GCSE Computer Science courses
NEWS
The GCSE Computer Science sections see regular updates
- *** Recent addition *** : The Tests & Exams page now has links to a site where you can download past papers from each of the four exam boards. Just the thing for some half-term revision and prep. Head on over and enjoy a feast!
- Our sections on Computer Systems, Programming and Cyberspace have all seen some recent additions. All of which will be useful to students part-way through the course, and many of which might be handy for those of you now on the revision trail before the final exams! Head on over and enjoy the goodies!
- The Programming section has some new links to some excellent programming sites, These are so good, we're referring you to them rather than reinventing the wheel!
- Computer Systems The Computer Systems section has seen some additions: Generally Useful Stuff (towards the bottom of the page) - go check it out!
- Over in the KS3 Computing section, our Web Site Design course recently sprouted several new lessons. This course is well worth doing if you haven't written any HTML code before.
- Continuing development: We're now presenting all of our classes on binary and hexadecimal and are continuing to develop our classes on data and logic. Computer Systems is also now sprouting new lessons.
Introduction to this section - Welcome, Students!
Hi - and welcome to our resources for GCSE Computer Science.
You can navigate your way around the sections of the course using the deep red menu bar. You'll find all sorts of stuff in each section - and they'll all be growing for a while yet, so it's worth popping back every couple of weeks to to a section you think you've completed, just to check if any of the new stuff makes things clearer. Each section has its own introduction, telling you which topics and concepts you'll be covering.
Introduction to this section (a few technicalities...)
There are four examing boards used by schools in England and Wales offering GCSE Computer Science. Your daughter/son should know which board s/he is studying under.
The boards are:
- AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance);
- OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations);
- Edexcel (Now branded Pearson Edxcel - part of the Pearson publishing group);
- WJEC (Welsh Joint Education Committee) - also known (in England) as EDUQAS
The good news is that the content of all four boards' GCSE syllabii is much the same - i.e. they all need the student to know more-or-less the same things. The boards each have different ways of assesing their student at the end of the course (See below for brief details).
Their assessment styles are:
- AQA requires the student to sit two written papers, and to have experience from practical programming project (but there is no assessed practical project)
- OCR requires the student to sit two written papers, and to have completed a practical project. Although this prroject is not assesed, the student's experience and understanding from that project will be assessed in the second exam.
- Edexcel requires the student to sit one written exam paper, and to complete an online exam (under exam conditions, at a school or other exam centre). The student needs to have practical experience from programming project-style work, but there is no assessed practical project.
- WJEC (also branded Eduqas) requires the student to sit one written exam paper, to complete an online exam (under exam conditions, at a school or other exam centre), and to submit a practical project.
What this means to us:
Clearly, home study will be easier for those boards where the assessment is purely exam-based. For students taking the WJEC exams, where a practical project is also involved, parents will need to liaise with a school or college about how this can be accommodated. for the three English boards (AQA, OCR, and Pearson Edexcel) it should be quite possible for a student to complete the course through home study. There are a lot of good resources available online, in addition to those we are providing. We will also provide some study guides for each syllabus (under construction!).
You will see this page has a second menu (in deep red) - these links take you to materials and resources for different parts of the syllabus content, and to a page of handy links to the four exam boards, where you can read and download their complete syllabus, a few specimen exam papers, and other useful materials. A couple of the boards provide a useful "Specification at a glance".
Head on over to the Specifications link on the menu - that page tells you where to find the GCSE Computer Science specifications for the four main examinig boards in England and Wales.
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Elsewhere on the Web
Our other sites page has a growing list of friends' learning sites, useful Facebook groups, and sites recommended by us or our friends
For example, our friends at GCSE Revision Monkey have some excellent resources for Sciences.
We're all in this together.
