Computer Science

Computer Science

Are you excited about what the computer systems of the future might be able to do and want to be involved in creating them? Do you want to understand the fundamental principles of how every computer works? Do you enjoy finding ways to solve complex logical or mathematical problems? If so, Computer Science at Chapeltown Academy is for you.

Computer Science is becoming more  relevant in the world we live in, with new technological advancements every year. Computer technology now affects every aspect of our lives. Many universities are now expecting students to be  able to write code in order to apply for degree subjects such as Maths and Engineering. Computer Science was relaunched country-wide as a new subject from 2015/16 with a new, more rigorous specification.

It is the combination of maths, programming, logic, problem solving and computer law and ethics in the new specification that make it a clear choice for so many students studying it at Chapeltown Academy. Problem Solving gives students the opportunity to use their mathematical skills and logical thinking in conjunction with algorithms and programming techniques. In Computer Systems, students discover the inner workings of the computer and how they interact with each other. Also they discover the user interfaces that are already available as well as future developments in the pipeline.

Legal, ethical, moral and social issues are discussed in order for students to become responsible programmers and users. The rise of Facebook and Twitter is just the beginning of the story when it comes to social media. Artificial intelligence is an area that pupils find fascinating and we look at the ethical implications of developing this technology.

Our Approach

A major part of the course is programming and this includes a non-examined assessment programming project. Unlike the GCSE, this counts as 20% of the final grade and students are encouraged to choose their own brief to deliver a usable real-world application. A range of programming languages can be chosen for the project

and our staff draw on a wealth of industry experience to be able to support our students in this. During the course the students learn Java, SQL, Javascript, HTML and CSS languages, with full support for all levels of ability including those completely new to programming. With many schools opting out of offering Computer Science GCSE to their students, we are developing a full support programme to allow students of suitable ability who have not had the opportunity to study prior to A level to access our A level course.

The academy has a suite of powerful workstation computers with a wide range of software, able to support a wide variety of app and application development and learning in such areas as operating system installation and server-side development.