GCSE COMPUTING
Dan Gardner | @englandraider
Session Objectives
• Gain an overview of the Computer Science curriculum at
Key Stage 4 (GCSE).
• Understand the assessment framework for the OCR
GCSE Computing course.
GCSE Computer Science courses
Available Resources
OCR Specification & Assessment
• A451: “Computer Systems &
Course Assessment
Programming”
• 90 minute exam paper
• A452: “Practical Investigation”
• 20 hour Controlled Assessment
• A453: “Programming Project”
• 20 hour Controlled Assessment
CA2
30%
CA1
30%
Exam
40%
Example Assessment Materials
Computer Programming is required
• Learning to program is fun! (for a logical thinker)
Programming Concepts (OCR spec)
• Variable
• Array
• Constant
• Operator
• Assignment
• Sequence
• Boolean
• Condition
• String
• Iteration
• Integer
• Count Loop
• Real Number • Condition
Loop
Finding out more…
• Exam Board Websites:
• Specification (what do we need to teach?)
• Sample assessment materials (past exam papers, etc)
• CAS Community Website:
• Unofficial “official” guides to introducing GCSE Computer Science
• Teaching resources
• Discussion of strategic approaches