Computer Science

What makes the computer science curriculum so special?

Computer science empowers scholars with the ability to control and manipulate computers, to create something out of nothing. Every lesson offers scholars the opportunity to explore the digital world, to understand how computers work and why they work the way they do. The aim of the curriculum is to spark a lasting passion in the subject of computer science and provide a platform from which scholars can be and create anything they want in the future.

How is the computer science curriculum enacted in a way that honours its beauty, richness and distinctiveness?

Lessons are a mix of practical and theory, where scholars learn by enacting and refining their skills and knowledge. The curriculum is designed to integrate traditional ICT skills with computer science theory; this ensures all scholars have the skills needed for a successful future using digital media where they can safely find, evaluate, create and communicate information. Computer science augments these skills with problem solving and programming that empowers scholars with the ability and freedom to create anything. Scholars are encouraged to build on interdisciplinary skills through working independently and in teams to promote resilience, creativity and communication.

How does the computer science curriculum equip scholars with knowledge that provides them with new ways of thinking about the world and has the capacity to take them beyond their own original experiences?

The subject promotes problem solving through computational thinking, scholars use abstraction, decomposition, algorithmic thinking and pattern recognition to design creative solutions. These skills are transferrable, they provide scholars with the tools they need to solve any problem in any other subject. All scholars have the opportunity to build software using Python, a programming language used by Intel, Pixar, NASA and many others. Scholars can use the programming skills they learn here as steppingstones to a successful future in the dynamic, growing and exciting world of tech.

How does the computer science curriculum reflect intelligent interdisciplinarity, to allow scholars to explore meaningful connections?

The computer science curriculum has natural links to mathematics and science but learning how to code is also akin to learning how to speak and write in a foreign language. Scholars learn how the computer is made from transistors which can be controlled using electrical signals and take knowledge from science about electricity and circuits. Knowledge about transistors links to binary and other number systems providing a direct relationship to mathematics. Inversely all subjects link to computers, from doing homework and research to creating presentations and 2D designs, every scholar needs to be able to utilise digital media.