Computer Science

OCR’s pioneering syllabus ensures we are at the forefront of the introduction of modern computing into the school curriculum. Coding skills are taught from Y5 and programming languages from Y7. Our students become familiar with robotics and basic AI algorithms as well acquiring the basic ICT skills we all need. We make use of Google Classroom and Cloud based document-sharing for homework and collaborative work. We offer qualifications at GCSE, AS and A level.

The computer suites are generally open during break and after school, in addition to timetabled lessons. The Computer Science department actively supports the photography, music composition and film-making courses within the school.

Computing in Schools: Network of Excellence

Related News

Thane, Y11’s blog- 3Dami computer science portfolio

Last year, the computer science department invited Y10 to participate in an animation design competition.
Thane, Y11 built an impressive portfolio of animations. He sent it to 3Dami which was recruiting 30 students across the whole of England to run a virtual summer study workshop. The workshop aimed... to create a 3D film from scratch in just 10 days. Thane’s portfolio was accepted:

Over the summer holiday I attended a 2 week 3D animation course over Microsoft Teams (usually it’s a residential in London , however the COVID-19 pandemic prevented that from happening). 3D Ami is a free, not for profit organization that promotes 3D animation to pre-university students. It is funded by universities, studios and creatives.
The course itself covers many aspects of the industry, where students work in teams and organise themselves (Producer, Director ,etc…). We went through the phases of scriptwriting, concept art, storyboards, modelling and animation in order to create our final film.
Whilst we worked, we were supervised and aided by industry professionals. Chloe, who was the leader working with our group comes from the video game and film industry, having worked on titles such as Battlefield 5.
It was an immensely fun and rewarding course and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the industry.

Check out the animation I worked on here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWFjZ8BbFR4

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Year 8 create mobile apps

Year 8 have been learning the entire process of creating their own mobile apps using App Lab from code.org. Building on the programming concepts students used in previous units, they conceptualized, designed, coded and tested their apps before publishing them for the world to use. The students had to... come up with different ideas for their app and explain how the app will be interesting and beneficial to their intended audience.

Here are some exceptional pieces of work!

Eesa – General Knowledge Quiz for 10-13 year old

Eesa has written 758 lines of Javascript code. The quiz has four different levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard. There are awards and trophies at the end:

Philo – Minecraft Quiz : Would you like to know more about Minecraft?

Philo has created a Minecraft quiz app with 10 questions. He explains the answers in detail and has chosen beautiful background images relevant to the question for every screen.

Julia – English Revision app for Year 8s

Julia has built an English revision app comprising 12 questions. The quiz is meant for Year 8 and the questions are multiple choice.

Great work, Year 8!

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Middle Years computer science students use Scratch and Python to create their own music concert and stories

Despite having only been studying the computer science curriculum for a term, the Year 5 students are demonstrating a keen understanding and enthusiasm for their new found skills in Scratch. They used Scratch this week to make their own virtual, musical concert. They changed the background, added instruments... and a singer and even enabled the drums to play different beats and the singer’s voice to have different harmonies.

In Year 8 computer scicence, the students have been learning how Python programming language can be used to create all kinds of software and websites. In this particular series of lessons this week the students have been using Python to create their own interactive stories.

The work being produced by our middle years computer scientists is of a fantastic standard, here are some examples of their work:

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Year 8 Computer Scientists create their own apps

Year 8 have been learning how to create their own apps as part of their online computer science lessons this term. The range of apps they have created include a virtual holiday app, a catching game and a colour knowledge test!
Click here to have a go on some of their newly created apps.

Year 7 Computer Science students create their own e-safety webpages

This year our year 7 students have been learning a lot about the internet and web and how to stay safe online. They’ve decided to share their knowledge of e-safety with the rest of our HCH community.
During this time of lockdown it has been more important than ever for the HCH community to be mindful... of the time being spend online and infront of a screen. The work Year 7 have completed covers a range of topics including identity theft, the use of cookies, GDPR and creating a digital footprint.

Here are their amazing webpages

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Year 5 build rocket time capsules in computer science

...Year 5 pupils built their time capsules today: paper rockets in which they stowed away their wish lists created in computer science lessons this term. Every wish is a seed they’ve planted for the future for their families, friends, planet Earth and themselves. Let’s hope all the wishes come true!

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