GCSE Computer Science. General Information The spec has been developed with the support of Microsoft The specification and sample assessment materials

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GCSE Computer Science

General Information

• The spec has been developed with the support of Microsoft• The specification and sample assessment materials can be found

on our website • It is now accredited by Ofqual • It is a single tier, linear specification available in summer only• It is for first teaching from September 2012 and first assessments

for all units and certification will be Summer 2014

Version 1.0 Copyright © 2008 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Why offer this course?

The qualification:

is based on extensive feedback from teachersis different from other GCSE ICT/Computing specs because it focuses on o the fundamentals of programmingo the practical creation of applications e.g. mobile and web

technologies and computer gameso key Computing concepts



Having studied this course, students will be able to:

create their own mobile applicationscreate interactive web-based applicationscreate their own simple computer games



It offers a selection of controlled assessment tasks that allow students to choose areas of broad interest to them from gaming, mobile, web and more traditional systems

It offers a choice for schools and colleges to select computer languages that best suit them and their students

It has academic rigour which will be attractive to GCSE students at all levels and their teachers

Version and its licensors. All rights reserved.


It is an alternative to GCSE ICT and can be delivered in conjunction with GCSE ICT

It allows progression with the opportunity for students to gain knowledge and skills to move on to A-levels, vocational courses, industry recognised IT courses, degree level courses in the areas of computing, engineering and science and employment

• As a GCSE, it meets the criteria required for school/college performance tables


Specification at a glance

• One tier of assessment – grades A* to G; 100% terminal

Component 1 – Practical Programming:

• Approx 50 hours controlled assessment (2 tasks of 25 hours each)

• 60% of marks (63 marks for each task)

• 180 UMS

• Tasks provided by AQA each year. Each student completes two tasks from choice of four.

• Students demonstrate their ability to code a solution to a given problem. Tasks will be set in engaging and relevant contexts eg gaming, web, mobile phone applications.

• Tasks (individual portfolio) may be submitted on paper or electronically (saved to CD/DVD).



Component 1 – Practical Programming contd:

•Portfolio for each scenario should be divided into four sections:1.Design of the solution (9 marks)

2.Solution development (9 marks)

3.Programming techniques used (36 marks)

4.Testing and evaluation (9 marks)

AQA acknowledges that a wide range of software packages will be used by students. Moderators will assess work based on the assessment criteria in the specification, rather than students’ use of the specific package.



Component 2 – Computing fundamentals:

•Examination paper – 1 hour 30 minutes

•40% of marks, 84 marks

•120 UMS

•Option of paper-based or on-screen version

•All questions compulsory – taken from across the subject content

•Range of types of questions from very short to extended answer


Subject Content

• The subject content should be taught within a range of realistic contexts

• Based around the major themes within the specification of web, mobile, gaming and more traditional coding systems

• A number of the sections would benefit from being taught holistically eg: algorithms could be taught alongside programming techniques owing to the close relationship between them

• See specification for detailed subject content


Controlled Assessment

• New tasks will be published in September of each year on e-AQA (Secure Key Materials)

• In the future, AQA expects to have tasks available 3 years before certification to allow for schools/colleges delivering the course over 3 years

• First submission and certification is May 2014 with Teacher Standardisation in autumn 2013 (Subject Adviser – initial support)

• Task taking – control level medium – students must complete all work (except research) under informal supervision


Controlled Assessment contd

• For collaborative work, individual students document the work they produce and individual contributions are recorded accurately

• Sources used by students must be clearly recorded and acknowledged

• Students can revise and redraft their work before submitting the final version

• Exemplar material on marking will be available via the website


Support includes…….


online briefings and meetings for teachers, which are free of charge (https://coursesandevents.aqa.org.uk)

resources, including schemes of work and a pseudocode structure (a teaching aid for Unit 2) as well as Microsoft resources already available on the website. Further resources for teachers and learners are being developed

ongoing support for schools/colleges from controlled assessment advisers throughout the delivery of the controlled assessment unit

Remember to check the website for regular updates!

If you have any specific queries please:

• Send an email to [email protected] and include:

o reference to AQA GCSE Computer Scienceo Your name and position in the school/collegeo the school/college name and centre number

OR• Contact Zoë Thomas at [email protected]


If you would like to register for updates

Go to the Computer Science subject webpages

http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/newgcses/ict/computer-science-updates

and click on the ‘register for updates’ link


Documents

GCSE Computer Science. General Information The spec has been developed with the support of Microsoft The specification and sample assessment materials