Computer
Science
“The quality, relevance, and impact of the products and services output by the technology sector can only be improved by having the people who are building them be demographically representative of the people who are using them.”—Tracy Chou
Computer Science fundamentally is about understanding how computing systems work, how they impact our lives and how to solve computational problems.
As a department our focus goes beyond simply teaching the course, but to engage students in a wide range of soft skills that will develop our students and prepare them for a projects and problems they may encounter when leaving LWC.
To be a professional in the computing industry you will need skills such as creativity and critical thinking, the ability to work both independently and collaboratively, and to be problem solvers. Not every person working in technology is a programmer, however, having the above skills and an understanding of how computers work and applications are developed is hugely beneficial in any industry. As we move into an ever more digital future an awareness of your involvement and how to be productive in it is paramount.
The computing department welcomes anyone that is passionate about learning how to program and understanding how a computer works. Anyone can learn how to program if they are willing to put in the time and effort. As Tracy Chou states, to improve the technology sector we need to be more representative of the people that are using these solutions. Computer Science is for you, no matter who you are.
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GCSE Computer Science
At GCSE we offer the Pearson EdExcel GCSE Computer Science (2020) (pearson.com). This course consists of two distinct papers.
Paper 1 considers the “Principles of Computer Science”, covering topics such as computational thinking, computing hardware and the impact that computing technologies have on the world. This is assessed with a 90 minute written paper worth 75 marks/50% of the final grade.
Paper 2 requires students to complete six programming tasks using Python 3. This assessment is taken on a computer, is also worth 75 marks/50% of the final grade. The time allowed for this assessment is two hours. These papers take place in the exam season at the end of 5th form.
For this course it is a requirement that you have a fully featured laptop as you will be using applications such as VS Code that do not run on iPads or Chromebooks.
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A-Level Computer Science
We offer the OCR A-Level in Computer Science in the Sixth Form. This course has three areas of study.
The first paper covers Computer Systems and is assessed with a written paper covering topics such as the characteristics of contemporary processors, software and data. The second written paper is about algorithms and programming, considering concepts such as computational thinking and problem solving with a specific focus on object-orientated programming and a collection of standard algorithms.
Each of the two written papers are worth 140 marks (40% of the final grade) and are 2 hours 30 minutes each. These papers take place in the exam season at the end of Upper Sixth.
The final area of the course is the programming project, where students complete a substantial project of their own design. A report containing analysis, design, implementation, testing and evaluation is the key component of this part of the course. This report is worth 70 marks, 20% of the final grade and has a timescale of approximately one year. As a non-examined assessment the deadline is during the Spring term.
At GCSE we offer the Pearson EdExcel GCSE Computer Science (2020) (pearson.com). This course consists of two distinct papers.
Paper 1 considers the “Principles of Computer Science”, covering topics such as computational thinking, computing hardware and the impact that computing technologies have on the world. This is assessed with a 90 minute written paper worth 75 marks/50% of the final grade.
Paper 2 requires students to complete six programming tasks using Python 3. This assessment is taken on a computer, is also worth 75 marks/50% of the final grade. The time allowed for this assessment is two hours. These papers take place in the exam season at the end of 5th form.
For this course it is a requirement that you have a fully featured laptop as you will be using applications such as VS Code that do not run on iPads or Chromebooks.
We offer the OCR A-Level in Computer Science in the Sixth Form. This course has three areas of study.
The first paper covers Computer Systems and is assessed with a written paper covering topics such as the characteristics of contemporary processors, software and data. The second written paper is about algorithms and programming, considering concepts such as computational thinking and problem solving with a specific focus on object-orientated programming and a collection of standard algorithms.
Each of the two written papers are worth 140 marks (40% of the final grade) and are 2 hours 30 minutes each. These papers take place in the exam season at the end of Upper Sixth.
The final area of the course is the programming project, where students complete a substantial project of their own design. A report containing analysis, design, implementation, testing and evaluation is the key component of this part of the course. This report is worth 70 marks, 20% of the final grade and has a timescale of approximately one year. As a non-examined assessment the deadline is during the Spring term.