A Level Computing

“Computer science is the operating system for all innovation” – Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft

There have been substantial developments in technology over the past twenty years in the world we live in:

• 47,000 apps are downloaded every minute.
• 2+ million search queries performed every minute.
• Autonomous cars are being tested and likely to soon be common on our roads.
• Computers are being used to make medical diagnoses with a greater accuracy than doctors.

At Kew House, we understand that there is an intrinsic link between Design and Technology and Computing, embracing computer science’s propensity for creativity and design through the essential application of coding. An integration which allows students a view into the real-world application of written code.  

In addition to an expansive curriculum, our passionate computing teachers run popular after-school activities in coding and robotics, creating a fun and exciting additional academic and social layer.  

Course Content

AQA Computing syllabus will cover 12 units, six of which will be delivered in the first year of the course. In the second year, the remaining six topics will be delivered along with a non-exam assessment.

Unit 1 – 2: Fundamentals of programming and data structures.

The students will study the fundamentals of programming basics, basic operations, structured programming and object-oriented programming concepts. The second unit covers data structures, queues and stack, graphs and trees, hash tables and vectors.

Unit 3 – 4: Fundamentals of algorithms and computational thinking.

The students will study searching and sorting algorithms using binary, binary tree and linear search. In Unit four the students will explore computational thinking which includes abstraction and automation, finite state machines and The Turing machine.

Unit 5 – 6: Fundamentals of data representation and computer systems.

The students will study the binary number system, coding systems and encryption. In computer systems, the students will explore hardware and software, Boolean algebra and logic gates.

Unit 7 – 8: Fundamentals of computer architecture and uses of computing.

The students will study internal hardware components of a computer system. They will also look at moral, ethical, legal and cultural issues of computer uses in society today.

Unit 9 – 10: Fundamentals of computer networking and databases.

The students will explore networking communication basics and internet security applicable in networks today. In addition to this they will create and study relational databases using SQL.

Unit 11 – 12: Fundamentals of functional programming and software development.

The students will study basics of functional programming, including writing functional programs. In the final unit, they will study the aspects of software development.

Career Opportunities

An exciting range of careers and higher educational opportunities are revealed through the knowledge of computer science. Setting yourself upon this path can lead to lucrative and highly in-demanded professions from Video game development to Artificial Intelligence engineering, to Web development. Among many others,  In our continuously advancing technological society, the options are limitless.