Subjects GCSE
GCSE Computer Science
Programming you can actually write from scratch, plus the theory paper that trips up strong coders.
Who this is for
Two very different students take this course: the one who can code but loses marks on Paper 1 theory, and the one who understands the theory but stares blankly at a blank editor. I teach both, differently.
What we cover
- Programming — Python from variables through to file handling and 2D arrays
- Algorithms — linear and binary search, bubble/merge/insertion sort, and why their efficiencies differ
- Data representation — binary, hex, two’s complement, character sets, images, sound, compression
- Computer systems — the CPU, the fetch-decode-execute cycle, memory, storage, embedded systems
- Networks — topologies, protocols, the TCP/IP stack, encryption, security threats
- Impacts — the legal, ethical and environmental questions that carry real marks
How I teach it
Writing code and reading code are separate skills, and the exam tests both. We do plenty of tracing — walking through unfamiliar code line by line, tracking every variable in a table — because that’s what a “what does this output?” question is really testing.
On algorithms: I don’t want you to memorise how bubble sort works. I want you to be able to rebuild it from the idea “repeatedly swap neighbours that are the wrong way round”. That’s the version that survives exam pressure.
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