Textbooks & endorsed resources

Written by an experienced teacher and assessment leader, our new GCSE Computer Science resources support teachers with the delivery of the new specification, and the navigation from ICT to Computer Science. Using an exciting and engaging approach, these publisher partner resources will help students master underlying computing principles and develop their computational thinking, programming and problem-solving skills.

The aim of this book is to provide comprehensive yet concise coverage of all the topics covered in the new OCR GCSE (9-1) Computer Science specification. It is written in a clear and easily understandable style with many in-text questions to test students’ understanding of the material and ability to apply it. This will be invaluable not only as a course textbook but also as a revision guide.

Covering all of the prescribed content for Components 01 & 02, it gives student-friendly descriptions and examples. The inclusion of learning objectives, definition boxes, chapter summaries and discussion points helps to engage students, while practice questions (with answers) test their knowledge at the end of every chapter.

Build student confidence and ensure successful progress through GCSE Computer Science. Our expert authors provide insight and guidance to meet the challenges of the new OCR specification, with challenging tasks and activities to test the computational skills and knowledge that students require for successful preparation for their assessments, and advice that could help towards successful completion of the non-examined assessment.

This is a short introductory unit of four lessons covering sections 1.1 – 1.3 of the OCR J276 specification. It can be taught at the beginning of the course or as a discrete unit later on. The unit starts with the various components of the CPU used in the Von Neumann architecture. Lessons build on the fundamentals covered at KS3, concentrating on RAM, ROM, cache and the need for virtual memory. The unit concludes by examining the need for secondary storage devices and their practical advantages in given applications.

The unit is subdivided into six learning hours spread across six lessons, including a test, in order to fit with most school timetables. It is a theoretical unit covering Section 1.4 and 1.5 of the OCR GCSE J276 Computing specification. Each lesson contains a worksheet to be done in class to consolidate students’ knowledge and understanding, as well as a homework sheet to give them plenty of practice questions.

This unit begins by looking at the threats and vulnerabilities of computer systems and programs, including social engineering and the concept of SQL injection. Encryption and penetration testing are covered as examples of various methods of preventing vulnerabilities. The unit continues to focus on operating systems software, their function and typical utility software programs. The role and methods of backup are also covered.

This free unit is subdivided into three learning hours plus an end of unit assessment. It is a theoretical unit covering the OCR GCSE Computer Science specification section 1.8. None of the lessons requires access to a computer and as such, they may be useful as “backup lessons” when the school network is down or unavailable for some reason. Each lesson is standalone and can be delivered at any convenient point in the course, or used as a revision lesson. This unit is free of charge.

This unit begins by looking at computational thinking, including abstraction and decomposition. Practical experience of writing, tracing and modelling algorithms using pseudocode and flowcharts is provided. These skills are subsequently used to interpret and compare relevant searching and sorting algorithms including the merge and insertion sorts. Students will also be given ample practical experience of correcting and completing algorithms (including debugging and testing) in worksheets and homeworks.

This programming unit covers the theoretical aspects of Sections 2.2 and 2.4 of the OCR J267 specification, covering the knowledge and skills that students will need to tackle exam questions on related topics. The resource covers basic programming constructs, string manipulation and file handling, computational logic, the use of functions and procedures to structure code and finally, records and the use of SQL to search for data. The unit is independent of any particular programming language but a basic knowledge and practical experience of programming in a language such as Python, Delphi or Small Basic is assumed.

This unit begins with a lesson on Boolean logic diagrams and truth tables. Following this, students will cover translators and the facilities of languages. Testing and error handling is covered using practical examples, including the use of the common tools and functions of an IDE. The unit concludes by looking at programming language classifications including translators and low-level languages. A test is provided with practice questions to assess understanding across all lessons in the unit.

The unit is subdivided into six learning hours spread across six lessons, plus a test, in order to fit with most school timetables. It is a theoretical unit covering Section 2.6 of the latest OCR GCSE Computer Science specification. Each lesson contains a worksheet to be done in class to consolidate students’ knowledge and understanding, as well as a homework sheet to give them plenty of practice questions.