Computing
Intent – why do we teach what we teach in Computer Science? Computer Science will be at the centre of the UK economy for decades to come. It is estimated that the UK will create an additional 1.8 million digital-related jobs by 2025. This creates huge opportunities for young people and the Computer Science department across the school aims to provide our students with the knowledge and skills to fill the digital jobs of the present and future. To do this, it is our intention, through the Computer Science curriculum, to develop a range of skills in our students. This includes critical thinking and reflective learning while also teaching pupils to become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology. They learn the ability to problem solve, to experiment and to work out solutions when they are not easily attained; the capacity to write programmes with the purpose of entertainment and to design programmes in a logical, aesthetically pleasing and accessible way.
Online safety plays a huge part of the computing curriculum as we intend for our pupils to be able to confidently use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour and identify a range of ways to report concern about content and contact. The curriculum provision incorporates the government’s framework ‘Education for a Connected World’ which equips children and young people for digital life.
Implementation – How do we teach Computer Science?
Coding and programming skills are embedded from Year 1 up until the end of KS5. Pupils will leave the primary phase being able to design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems and also to solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts. They will be able to use sequence, selection and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output; use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs. In addition, they will understand computer networks, including the internet; and how they can provide multiple services, such as the World Wide Web, and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration.
By the end of KS3, all students are expected to be capable computer scientists. KS4 and KS5 students are taught the required programming skills using Python to read and develop real world algorithms with sequencing, selection and iteration. Students become comfortable using different data structures in their programmes ranging from simple lists for sorting and searching algorithms to complex graphs for pathfinding algorithms. At both KS4 and KS5, students have the chance to complete a programming project to showcase their programming skills and produce a polished and functional computer programme. We intend to give them these life skills.
At KS5, the nature of their programming project is open for the student to decide, giving them scope to address a real-world problem and come up with a real-life solution. KS4 and KS5 students also embed a sound knowledge of binary and hexadecimal number systems and develop their mathematical skills when using them. They explore how images, videos, sound and text are displayed and processed using these number systems and how computer files are compressed to be transferred across a network. The inner workings of a network are studied in detail, including the different architectures and their benefits/ drawbacks; the way the internet works and what makes for good security against cyber-attacks.
Pupils at Chobham become proficient users of information technology, with the skills to use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content. The intent is for all pupils to additionally be able to select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) to design and create a range of creative projects that involve selecting, using, and combining multiple applications, preferably across a range of devices, to achieve challenging goals, including collecting and analysing data and meeting the needs of known users.
With so many digital jobs available at present, and so many predicted to be available in the future, we then encourage our students to pursue Computer Science as an academic route at Higher Education. We hope to produce computer scientists, software developers and cyber security experts of the future.
Impact – how do measure the impact of what we teach in Computer Science?
We encourage our students to enjoy and value the curriculum we deliver. We will constantly ask the ‘Why?’ behind their learning and not just the ‘How?’. We want learners to discuss, reflect and appreciate the impact computing has on their learning, development and well-being. Finding the right balance with technology is key to an effective education and a healthy life-style. We feel the way we implement computing helps our students realise the need for the right balance and one they can continue to build on in their next stage of education and beyond. We encourage regular discussions between staff and students to best embed and understand this. The way students showcase, share, celebrate and publish their work will best show the impact of our curriculum. We also look for evidence through reviewing students’ knowledge and skills digitally and observing learning regularly. Progress of our computer science curriculum is demonstrated through outcomes and the record of coverage in the process of achieving these outcomes.
This leads to highly successful exam outcomes at the end of KS4 and Post-16. At Key Stage 5, the majority of students that complete A Level Computer Science carry on to study Computer Science at university. Additional support is in place that will enable students to engage in a number of activities to help them to continue in their development as effective digital learners. This includes providing a support network for younger students that are encountering initial difficulties in getting to grips with the demands of programming and algorithmic thinking, to providing a venue and support for A Level students to carry out independent work on their programming project.
There are a number of students who go on to study Computer Science at higher education institutions, some highlights are below:
2023 - Rafi - Computer Science at University of Westminster;
2023 - Saiful - Computer Science at University of Goldsmiths;
2023 - Daniel - Computer Science at KCL;
2023 - James - Computer Science at Royal Holloway.
2022 - Irving - Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence at University of Sheffield; ;
2022 - Ahmed - Computer Science with Industrial Experience at QMUL;
2022 - Richard - Computer Science with Industrial Experience at University of Leicester.
Exam Board Information
GCSE Syllabus Studied – OCR
A Level Syllabus Studied – OCR
