Year 11

ICT Spring 2024

We enter the final straight for the 2022 - 2024 ICT course in a good place. We have completed, in exam conditions, all 3 mock papers in the last few weeks and the last 7 days all 3 have been returned. 

Studying has 2 purposes, to teach the content, and then teach students how to maximise their chances in the exam. With regards to ICT study, in the last few months, the focus has very much been on past papers, looking at what the examiner wants from the past papers' marks schemes so that students know exactly what to deliver on the day.

To remind you, there are 3 papers.

Paper 1 - 40% of the course - Written Exam, in the hall, based on ICT Theory.

Paper 2 - 30% of the course, practical, in the ICT suites, based around Databases, Word Processing and Presentation software.

Paper 3 - 30% of the course, practical, in the ICT suites, based around Spreadsheets, and Web Design, (HTML and CSS).

Past papers only serve as revision reminders. If the student doesn't know the content being examined, in the first instance they need to revisit the textbook on Kognity, (https://kognity.com/ ).

If the student is at home and stressed about how to do a particular skill, type the skill into YouTube for an instant answer. If it can wait until the student is next in school, then I am available to explain time and time again until mastery is achieved. 

What Can I (parent) do to help?

This is a very old, established course with lots of past papers. Your child will know where to find these. Some are available on the class Google Classroom, and there are lots of sites that have everything available. Try searching for 0417 cie past papers and pick a site that suits your needs. Or your child can always ask me.

There is NO reason to buy a separate Office 365 Licence, the school supplies one. Your child can log into office.com with their school login details and download the relevant software. If you are running a Mac you may not get Access working, but there is still a month to go and plenty of time to practise in school.

This is a skills-based exam. There is no substitute for practise. Encourage your child to complete as many past papers as possible. THE AIM IS NOT TO DO THESE IN EXAM CONDITIONS, remember they need to understand what is on the Marks Scheme so that they can replicate these answers at the time. 

Timings for exams

The practical exams for ICT are always first.  The practical exams are 2 hours and 15 minutes and the paper 1 is 1 hour and 30 minutes. 

The dates this year are:

Paper 2 - April 3rd

Paper 3 - April 4th

Paper 1 - May 8th

BUT ALLOW BREAKS

There is no benefit to sitting and studying the same subject for hours at a time - study periods have to be broken down. That of course doesn't mean that it takes 30 minutes and then 45 of Instagram; it means maybe walking away from the screen for a few minutes, and then studying another subject.