Home schooling and self-study
Do I need to study GCSE Computer Science before studying A level?
A level Computer Science is one of the most difficult and demanding A levels. It is often considered the 4th hardest subject after Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. That means studying it at A level with no foundation is a real challenge. However, it can be done. Before GCSE Computer Science was available, many students successfully studied A level with no prior knowledge and achieved the highest grades. Even today that is still the case.
That said, some would argue the standard required for A level is now higher due to the qualification pathway available. Students that have studied GCSE Computer Science will certainly find the subject significantly easier at A level.
Our advice is if you have a real passion for Computer Science and have experience of programming, writing your own apps or games (not just vibe coding or drag-and-drop, block-based) then starting with A level would be appropriate. If not, we would strongly advise studying GCSE first unless you are extremely motivated, willing to put in a lot of work, and ready for a steep learning curve.
As a basic measure of your readiness, ask yourself whether you could write the following program independently. If you can, you are ready for A level.
Write a program that prompts the user for a filename. The file contains plain text English. The program reads the file and outputs its contents in Morse code.
Do your videos cover the course in enough depth?
Our videos are carefully crafted to meet the exact requirements of a specification, including the subtle differences between them. They are produced and narrated by real teachers, not AI - subject knowledge experts with decades of classroom experience, a degree in computer science and industry experience. Each video is about 12 minutes long. Enough to cover all the knowledge without becoming too boring. Research shows this is about the right length for video tuition.
Our videos are pitched at the right level to prepare students aiming to achieve the highest grade. Students write to us from time to time expressing how our videos enabled them to succeed.
How to use the videos
Don't just passively watch the videos. You won't learn effectively that way. Instead use a Cornell note-taking approach:
- As you watch the video, pause it and take notes. If you are watching our GCSE videos a blue "take notes" icon is shown when you should stop the video and write down what you see on the screen, including any diagrams. This is the essential knowledge. At A level those scaffolds have been removed, although the text to the right of each slide will show you the key facts. These may need to be distilled to achieve a concise set of notes.
- After you have the notes, turn them into a set of questions that can be answered only from your notes. E.g. "The program counter is a processor register that stores the address of the next instruction." Might become, "What is the program counter?" and "What does the program counter store?" Use these questions for recall practice and revision.
- Identify up to eight subject specific key terms in the video and write these down. Make sure the definitions of those terms are covered in the notes and questions.
We do not provide the original PowerPoint slides to students directly.
Using other resources
If you take detailed notes and revise them using the questions and keywords you have written, you will be successful. Text books will also help to read alongside, but beware they often contain mistakes that cannot be corrected. Computer Science is one of those subjects where there can be many correct answers. For example, there are lots of different Quicksort algorithms, but text books and videos might demonstrate a different one. They are both correct!
Use revision guides to check your notes have enough detail. The online assessment and revision platform Smart Revise should be used to support your study. Aim to achieve the weekly goals it sets automatically as a minimum, but increase the flight path settings for greater challenge.