Teams across Cambridge University Press and Assessment are working hard to create a digital GCSE in Computer Science, and we'd like to share with you the progress we have made so far.

We are developing a fully digital GCSE Computer Science qualification. Both components of the qualification will be assessed by digital exams, one of which includes an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), where students can write, run, test and refine programming code. The aim of this is to offer an authentic and effective assessment of programming skills.

The platform uses a blend of familiar and interactive question types to appropriately test different content. Question types include simple fill in the blanks, connectors and multiple choice, together with other question types that enable us to test more advanced concepts.

We have extensively trialled our digital platform during our development journey with teachers and students to ensure we are meeting their needs. In recent testing with 52 teachers, 93% of teachers responded ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ when asked whether they would consider entering their students for an OCR digitally assessed exam based on what they had seen. We are hugely grateful to the teachers and students who have participated in our testing for their invaluable feedback.

We have used the teacher and student feedback and testing to refine the platform to ensure that it is simple, student friendly and easy to navigate. Tools such as the ability to flag questions and track time will enable students to efficiently manage the exam. The platform also includes an accessibility panel, which will allow the platform display to be customised.

Our digital GCSE Computer Science is subject to Ofqual approval and we will communicate a first teach date as soon as this is confirmed. We will continue to offer our paper-based Computer Science GCSE alongside our digital qualification, meaning schools will have the choice between traditional paper and on-screen exams.

Make sure that you bookmark our digital exams page so that you can follow our progress with this exciting development.