Skip to content ↓

Computing

A Computing education will equip pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world.

The computing curriculum in Radnor House Senior School is engaging and hugely varied. 

Computing at Radnor House affords our children the opportunity to develop skills across what we believe are the three main strands of Computing and is in line with our Senior School curriculum: Computer Science (CS), Computer Design Technology (CDT) and Information Technology (IT). The subject is a mixture of theory-based topics and project-based, skill progression, cross-curricular, practical, and is a fun and engaging qualification. The progression is through 2 GCSE courses offered, GCSE Computer science and Creative iMedia that leads students to explore A-Level Computer science courses.

Key Stage 3

Aims:

  • To understand & apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
  • Analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
  • To evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
  • Ensure pupils are responsible, competent, confident & creative users of information and communication technology
  • Encourage independence, creativity and awareness of the digital media sector with the Information technology at its heart

Topics covered to include:

ICT/Digital Literacy

  • Using Surface device and impact of technology
  • Using emails
  • Word processing software
  • Modelling data with Spreadsheets
  • Using Microsoft publisher for business documents

Computing

  • Creating 3D games using Kodu
  • Understand networks and the internet
  • Programming with Scratch
  • Computational Thinking
  • Computer systems and hardware
  • Developing website using HTML, CSS and Java Script
  • Representation of data
  • Cybersecurity
  • ‘Python’ Programming

Creative Design Technology

  • Using Adobe Creative Cloud Express
  • Creating animation using Adobe Character Animator
  • Using Adobe Photoshop
  • Working with Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Premiere Rush - Video Campaign

Key Stage 4

At Key stage 4 we offer two distinct pathways GCSE Computer Science and Creative iMedia.

 GCSE Computer Science

GCSE specifications in Computing encourages candidates to be inspired, moved and challenged by following a coherent, satisfying and worthwhile course of study. They should help candidates to gain an insight into related sectors. They should prepare candidates to make informed decisions about further learning opportunities and career choices.

This carefully planned course gives students an in-depth understanding of how computer technology works. It offers an insight into what goes on ‘behind the scenes’, including computer programming.

Component 1: Computer systems

Introduces students to the central processing unit (CPU), computer memory and storage, wired and wireless networks, network topologies, system security and system software. It also looks at ethical, legal, cultural and environmental concerns associated with computer science.

Component 2: Computational thinking, algorithms and programming

Students apply knowledge and understanding gained in component 1. They develop skills and understanding in computational thinking: algorithms, programming techniques, producing robust programmes, computational logic, translators and data representation. The skills and knowledge developed within this component will support the learner when completing the component 3 programming project.

Creative iMedia

These qualifications will assess the application of creative media skills through their practical use. They will provide learners with essential knowledge, transferable skills and tools to improve their learning in other subjects with the aims of enhancing their employability when they leave education, contributing to their personal development and future economic well-being. The qualifications will encourage independence, creativity and awareness of the digital media sector.

  • R081: Pre-production skills

This unit will enable learners to understand pre-production skills used in the creative and digital media sector. It will develop their understanding of the client brief, time frames, deadlines and preparation techniques that form part of the planning and creation process.

  • R082: Creating digital graphics

This unit builds on unit R081 and learners will be able to apply the skills, knowledge and understanding gained in that unit and vice versa.

These 2 units are followed by two additional optional units both focussing on creativity and use of creative media skills through their practical use.

A level Computer Science

Level Computer Science qualification helps students understand the core academic principles of computer science. Classroom learning is transferred into creating real-world systems through the creation of an independent programming project. Our A Level will develop the student’s technical understanding and their ability to analyse and solve problems using computational thinking.

Component 1: Computer systems

This component will introduce learners to the internal workings of the Central Processing Unit (CPU), the exchange of data and will also look at software development, data types and legal and ethical issues. It is expected that learners will draw on this underpinning content when studying computational thinking, developing programming techniques and devising their own programming approach in the Programming project component (3 or 4).

Component 2: Algorithms and programming

This component will incorporate and build on the knowledge and understanding gained in the Computer systems component 1. In addition, students will be able to understand what is meant by computational thinking, the benefits of applying computational thinking to solving a wide variety of problems, able to use algorithms to describe problems, and understand the principles of solving problems by computational methods.

Component 3: Programming project

Students will be expected to analyse, design, develop, test, evaluate and document a program written in a suitable programming language. The underlying approach to the project is to apply the principles of computational thinking to a practical coding problem. Learners are expected to apply appropriate principles from an agile development approach to the project development

 

Paste in video URL and save page via the "Edit" tab at the top of the page

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzdI8RY3Nz4