A Level Computer Science Course

• Networks including the internet

• Computers and their components
• Logic Gates and Logic Circuits

• Central Processing Unit (CPU) Architecture
• Assembly Language
• Bit manipulation

• Operating System
• Language Translators

• Data Security
• Data Integrity

• Ethics and Ownership

• Database Concepts
• Database Management System (DBMS)
• Data Definition Language (DDL) and Data Manipulation Language (DML)

• Computational Thinking Skills
• Algorithms

• Data Types and Records
• Arrays
• Files
• Introduction to Abstract Data Types (ADT)

• Programming Basics
• Constructs
• Structured Programming

• Program Development Lifecycle
• Program Design
• Program Testing and maintenance

• User-defined data types
• File organisation and access
• Floating-point numbers, representation and manipulation

• Protocols
• Circuit switching, packet switching

• Processers, Parallel Processing and Virtual Machines
• Boolean Algebra and Logic Circuits

• Purposes of an Operating System (OS)
• Translation Software

• Encryption, Encryption Protocols and Digital certificates

• Artificial Intelligence

• Algorithms
• Recursion

• Programming Paradigms
• File Processing and Exception Handling

The skills you gain from A' Level Computer Science will allow you to go into Industries as diverse as consultancies, IT service providers, telecommunications, aerospace and defence, financial services, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, agricultural, public and third sectors. Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also have a range of computing opportunities. It is also possible to set up your own business providing IT services such as web design and consultancy.

If you specialise in computer sicence at higher education, jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Application analyst
• Business analyst
• Data analyst
• Database administrator
• Games developer
• Information systems manager
• IT consultant
• Multimedia programmer
• SEO specialist
• Systems analyst
• Systems developer

Before you start your tutor will contact you to welcome you and, if you’re new to Learn Now, help you understand what study will be like. They’ll also clarify how and when they can be contacted, and how quickly they will respond to you.

Once you’ve started your tutor will mark and provide feedback on your assignments and support your progress throughout the course.

If you take the Full A Level course, there will be a practical element involved with Paper 4. you will need to ensure that the centre where you sit your exams, is able to also cater for the practical paper. For the AS Level in Computer Science, it will be 100% exam based.

Learners will need to have experience of using a high-level programming language before taking exams. The programming language we will be using throughout the course will be Python (Console mode).

With our A Level courses you receive support and access for up to two years. You can however complete the course much sooner if you wish to. You will need to check the exam dates for your A Level subject and the number of guided learning hours to ensure that you can achieve your goals.