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Computer Science A Level

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Getting Ahead

Computer Science A Level at Alton Campus

Are you studying Computer Science A Level at Alton Campus in September? If so, you’re in the right place!

We have put together the following ‘Getting Ahead’ work to help you prep for your course over the summer.

We can’t wait for you to join us at College soon!

a man working at a laptop

A set of five pieces of work has been set to help you with the transition from GCSE to A Level via this website.

Once you have created an account, you can access the work via ‘My Assignments’ in the main menu.

The work has been set on ‘Isaac Computer Science’ which will be used during your A Level studies. To access the series of questions that have been set either:

  • Click here and follow the on-screen instructions
  • Or Google ‘Isaac Computer Science’ and set up a student account. Under the menu, select ‘My account’, then ‘Teacher connections’. Enter the code NV8TBY to join the summer work classroom.

Read through the content and answer the corresponding questions at the end of each section:

  1. Networking
  2. Systems
  3. Data Representation
  4. Programming Concepts
  5. Boolean Logic

The AQA exam board specification is a useful resource for helping you to understand the different sections of the A Level course you will be studying. Spend some time reading about the content of the course and how it will be assessed by clicking here.

One of the fundamental cornerstones of Computer Science concerns the concept of Algorithms.

Watch the below videos to help you investigate Algorithms and write a 10-line summary for each video, making note of any examples to help with task 3.2 below:

How Algorithms Shape Our World

Algorithms are Taking Over the World

How Powerful are Algorithms? (First five minutes)

Activity 3.1

You should now be able to produce a concise definition of an Algorithm using exactly 10 words. Highlight the three most important words in your definition.

Activity 3.2

List 20 examples of where Algorithms are used (watching the videos should have helped).

Activity 3.3

Produce an Algorithm for making a cup of tea. Try not to leave out any of the many stages (there are at least 20!). How would you modify your ‘Tea’ algorithm in order to make ‘Coffee’ instead?

Activity 3.4

Try to write detailed Algorithms for the following calculations:

  • Calculate the area and circumference of a circle from either the radius or diameter
  • Find the average, minimum and maximum of a set of numbers.

Please complete these activities and bring the work with you to your first lesson.

Investigate the history of Computer Science by taking a virtual tour of the National Museum of Computing.

Resources

Meet your Teachers

  • Graham Bland

We look forward to seeing you soon!

“I owe the staff a lot and I wouldn't be where I am today without them.”

Tom Andrews, A Level Student

I overcame a couple of barriers by working really hard to get the top grades. My experience was really good, with the course and the lecturers, the residentials and activities, together it was all really good. I had really great teaching support, I could always go to the lecturers and speak to them if I needed to.

David Stenning, Public Services student

My experience at the College was great, it’s very different to school, and I think it’s a good step to going to university. The support was amazing, I loved all of my teachers, they helped me through everything. The College is friendly and you will succeed.

Heidi Adamson Brattland, A Level student