Computer Science
Computer Science is a practical subject where students can apply the academic principles learned in the classroom to real-world systems. It’s an intensely creative subject that combines invention and excitement, and can look at the natural world through a digital prism.
Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding the course, your suitability or where it may lead in the future please contact:
Darryn Gordon
Welcome to Computer Science @ QE
It is my pleasure to welcome you to this site. Here you will find valuable information about the course, extra curricular opportunities and taster lessons for computer science students.
The department strives to provide an outstanding educational experience for our students, by providing an innovative, challenging and enjoyable learning environment, that will provide you with all the skills you need to be successful in higher education and employment.
The Staff
Your teaching team comprises of Darryn Gordon (course leader) who has been teaching at QE for 20 years and course leader now for 5. Darryn teaches both the first and second year of the course. We also have Steve Regan and Paul Wearmouth teaching the first year programming component. Both are experienced computer science teachers.
(The staffing list may inlcude additional teachers next year).
A-Level Computer Science in brief:
Assessment for OCR Specification H446
Computer Systems (01) Exam 2.5hrs 40% of total A-level
Algorithms and Programming (02) Exam 2.5hrs 40% of total A-level
Programming Project (03) NEA -------- 20 of total A-level
Topics Covered:
Computer Systems (01)
1.1 - The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices
1.2 - Software and software development
1.3 - Exchanging data
1.4 - Data types, data structures and algorithms
1.5 - Legal, moral, cultural and ethical issues
Algorithms and Programming (02)
2.1 - Elements of computational thinking
2.2 - Problem solving and programming
2.3 - Algorithms
The key features of this specification encourage:
emphasis on problem solving using computers
emphasis on computer programming and algorithms
emphasis on the mathematical skills used to express computational laws and processes, e.g. Boolean algebra/logic and comparison of the complexity of algorithms
less emphasis on ICT.