COMPUTER SCIENCE

1. Focus on developing practical programming skills: You need to be able to write programs using at least one programming language e.g Python. This is because there are many exam questions on programming to test your programming knowledge in Paper 2 exam and therefore, you need to be able to read and interpret programs in order to do well in Paper 2. Besides, you have to create a reasonably complex program independently for your coursework which is worth 20% of the total marks.

2. Understand the theory and applying the theory which we have learnt in class: Make sure you're on top of the theory you've learned so far, all the time. Computer Science works similarly to the Physics subject, you need to understand the theories and how things work, then you can apply these theories in the real-world situations. This is because we learn the Computing theories in a microscopic and abstract way, many Computing theories cannot be seen in real as the hardware is either too tiny or too abstract to imagine. Thus, it is essential to understand the theory first.

3. Don’t be a lone wolf: Refer to Tip 2, for some, it is difficult to understand these Computing theories. Therefore, do ask others to help you and do not be ashamed for it. You may ask your peers who are studying the same subject, you may ask your teachers for further explanations or do research on some educational websites. Learning effectively sometimes do take a lot of discussions.

4. Do not be a lastminute.com, studying the night before an exam will NOT work: Understand the theory do take times and therefore you do not want to leave any concepts that you are still confused about, until the exam is near. Ideally, you want to be able to understand all the theories and memorize the key computing terms and concepts, then you should be able to tackle the exam questions. So, be organise!

5. Doing some extra in your free time is useful and helps sharpen your skills: Do go beyond the A Level Computer Science syllabus and research on other Computing topics that are not within the A Level course. This will widen your horizon and knowledge in Computer Science and even better, it helps with your personal statement in UCAS application.