An introductory unit that covers the basic internal hardware of a PC - RAM, ROM, the CPU and storage.

The characteristics of a Vonn Neumann architecture, RISC and CISC and the fetch, decode execute cycle.

An introductory unit looking at application software, utilities and translators.

An in depth look at operating systems and their importance in computer systems.

Programming techniques from beginner to advanced. File handling, string handling, nests and functions - all designed to augment the other programming content elsewhere on the site.

Lessons in database basics from building a flat file through to creating a relational database. SQL lessons included for help with Component 3 and A Level study.

Crucial lessons focussing on the benefits of connecting computers together and how this combines to form the internet.

The science of sending data across networks: protocols in depth and the concepts of circuit and packet switching.

Converting to binary and hex, binary addition and subtraction, two's complement, sign and magnitude and normalised floating point binary.

Various character sets including an in depth look at ASCII, UTF-8 and UTF-32 plus logic gates, truth tables and Karnaugh maps.

Some fun, suggested activities to try for these thought-provoking topics. Aimed at students who like to think deeply and learn deeper.

Much of this unit can be taught implicitly along with programming tasks. For the bits that need explicit teaching the unit is here.

Preparing students for the Component 2 exam requires good programming skills. This unit teaches the basics of all the necessary constructs.

Testing tables are an examiners favourite so getting them right is crucial to success in Component 2. This unit combines those skills with some research of some working practices performed by software development companies.

Students need to know the basics of and be able to implement a range of algorithms for the AS course. Algorithms in this unit include bubble sort, insertion sort, linear search and binary search.

A look back at some of the tougher parts of the AS hardware section for revision purposes plus pipelining and how GPUs can be used to speed up specific processing tasks.

Learning how a compiler creates machine code is a crucial skill for high ability A Level students. This unit explains lexical analysis, syntax analysis, code generation, optimisation and libraries.

It can be tough for sixth form students to learn professional working methods. This unit teaches Rapid Application Development, the Waterfall Cycle, Agile Programming and Extreme Programming.

An absorbing unit that teaches the principals and fundamentals of procedural programming, object oriented, and low level techniques.

Understanding data structures is crucial to application design. This unit teaches students a range of common structures (array, linked list, stacks, queues, trees, binary trees, graphs and hash tables) including algorithms for common usage and implementation in an object oriented programming language.

An in depth look at normalisation plus looking at creating schema and CRUD operations in SQL. Learners are also introduced to a range of key database terminology used to ensure data integrity.

The future of the web will be in your learner's hands so this unit aims to upskill them on the key concepts of search engine ranking and creating server side scripts for dynamic web applications.

Using networks brings about some tricky algorithms for data storage and transmission. This unit demystifies compression and encryption and explains the method and benefit of hashing passwords in a networked system.

Performing calculations with binary can be tricky during final year A Level work. This unit aims to demystify normalised floating point representation and its associated arithmetic functions.

Where computer science meets electronics. A look at the circuitry that forms the components of the ALU and memory as well as Boolean algebra - De Morgan's Laws, commutation, absorption, distribution, double negation and more.

More computational thinking at A Level - this time learners explore multi-threading operations and define how some processes can be completed concurrently.

Thinking of tasks in terms of solving problems is crucial in computer science. In this unit learners explore which problems are computable and deconstruct a number of classic problem solving techniques.

Merge sort, quick sort, bubble sort, insertion sort, linear and binary search, Dijkstra and A* Pathfinding, Big O notation. Everything an A Level student needs to know about these standard algorithms.

The Component 3 project is a major undertaking that will be the greatest undertaking of your student's lives to date. Ensuring learners can access all the marks in the mark scheme is a crucial part of managing this challenging project.