Computer Science

Computer Science is the practical study of computer systems and the software that runs on them. It develops your capacity to think creatively, innovatively, analytically, logically and critically. Computer Science will allow you to develop an understanding and apply computational thinking to a range of problems through practical experience, including by writing programs. The main language used in lessons is Java although during the course you will also get the chance to gain some experience of other languages including C, C++, php, Python and SQL.

In Computer Science you will learn to be able to break down larger problems, identifying the important pieces of information that are important in decision making.  Being able to order information and demonstrate a systematic and logical approach is a skill set that is recognisable and transferable to a range of disciplines. In the Computer Science department at The Urswick School we work hard to ensure that you get introduced and have access to all the products from Jetbrains, github and AWS which are widely used in degrees, advanced degrees and when working professionally.

Students follow the OCR computer science course

The AS Level is assessed by two exam papers.  One paper is titled “Computing principles” and the other “Algorithms and problem solving”.

The A Level is two exam papers (each 40% of the final grade), “Computer systems” and “Algorithms and programming”, and a Programming project (20% of the final grade).

The course is suitable for people interested in solving problems, mathematics, computers and programming.

Computer Science fits well with a number of other subjects and can particularly support studies with significant scientific and mathematical content.  There are many post-graduate courses and professions that make significant use of computer science such as bioinformatics, medical computer science and economics.