Computing

We have always firmly believed that students should have opportunities to explore and develop a greater understanding of how the digital elements of their lives, studies and tools are developed and created; giving them a better understanding of the nuts and bolts of the tools and systems they take for granted.

Our aim for Computing in the curriculum is to enable all pupils to be confident and effective designers and developers of their own software, applications, and systems. It is also our aim to develop a particular way of thinking and problem solving, that will not only facilitate their ability to develop computer-based solutions, but also be useful in a broader range of situations.

Here is a link to our curriculum statement:

Key Stage 3

Classes are set by Mathematics in year 7, 8 and 9. All students follow the same Schemes of Learning which fully meets the requirements of the National Curriculum and spiral from one year to the next. Whilst work is targeted somewhat to the ability of those classes, through the provision of differentiated class materials and scaffolding, all students can access all areas and levels of achievement.

In Year 7, students are given a strong foundation in some of the main Computing concepts they will need to use throughout their time at Saint Aidan’s. This includes learning how to research safely and find reliable information, creating a model to convert from Binary to Denary and understanding basic networks. They are also given the opportunity to develop computational thinking skills which they then apply to creating either a Fitbit or rewards and sanctions counter using a micro:bit.

Year 8 allows students to build on and improve their skills and understanding. This includes creating a simple online safety expert system in Scratch; exploring physical computing with hands on hardware, including understanding logic and how the CPU works; designing and programming a Magic 8 Ball simulation using Python and converting between Denary, Binary and Hexadecimal.

In Year 9 we place even greater emphasis on students learning and developing solutions independently. Students are provided with brief recaps then given all the resources they need to solve problems and complete tasks in a practical, real-world context. These tasks cover a range of competences including text-based programming with Python; making an interactive presentation to explore the impact of technology on online safety, privacy, and identity; creating a band logo and other associated promotional materials, or code a database to hold fan details; finally, they explore further the operation of the CPU and code using a low-level language.

The content within each year is designed to visit, revisit, and embed all the basics of computational thinking, computer use and the computer’s mechanics. Thereby allowing students to achieve a certain level of mastery by the end of Key Stage 3, and then make informed choices about further study at KS4, 5 and beyond.

Here is an overview of the Key Stage 3 curriculum:

Assessment at Key Stage 3 involves the use of tests at the end of each lesson to assess understanding of key lesson concepts. These tests are either self-marked, low stakes MCQs using Microsoft Forms or take the form of end of lesson exam questions.

As part of their ongoing development of work, students are given regular peer and teacher feedback using WWW and EBI success criteria. They are encouraged to use the ongoing feedback to demonstrate modification and improvement of work in progress using the unit’s success criteria and evaluation documents found in the OneNote TAP Sheets.

Key Stage 4

Students are given the opportunity to study the academic Computer Science at GCSE.

Option students cover the programme of study provided by AQA (8525) for Computer Science, with a departmental adaptation of the work into suitable schemes of work to match the opportunities available. They are currently delivered via Teams and OneNote, with support from Synergy.

AQA Computer Science 8525 Specification

AQA Computer Science 8525 Content

Paper 1: Computational thinking and programming skills

What’s assessed?

Computational thinking, code tracing, problem-solving, programming concepts including the design of effective algorithms and the designing, writing, testing, and refining of code.

• 1 Fundamentals of algorithms
• 2 Programming

How it’s assessed

• Written exam: 2 hours
• 90 marks
• 50% of GCSE

Paper 2: Computing concepts

What’s assessed?

• 3 Fundamentals of data representation
• 4 Computer systems
• 5 Fundamentals of computer networks
• 6 Cyber security
• 7 Relational databases and structured query language (SQL)
• 8 Ethical, legal, and environmental impacts of digital technology on wider society, including issues of privacy

How it’s assessed

• Written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes
• 90 marks
• 50% of GCSE

Enrichment

Computer rooms are open before school, at lunchtimes and after school. In addition, we have a Coding Club and a Vex Robotics Club on offer after school, where students can work together to solve problems using a variety of languages and hardware.

Where location and opportunity permits, we enter students into a variety of competitions, mostly, but not exclusively based around the use of robotics; this includes the yearly Vex Robotics competitions.

Once a year we take a group of Year 9 students to The National Museum of Computing to give them some exposure to the amazing history of the subject, and hopefully inspire them to take the subject further.

Department Staff