Computer Science - Level 3 BTEC Certificate/Extended Certificate and Diploma/Extended Diploma

Students will get to understand how computers work and gain practical experience in installing hardware and software. They will design, build and publish their own website and create animations using industry standard software such as Adobe CS5. Students will also develop programming skills using Visual Studio and develop their own games.

The units covered on this course include:

Fundamentals of Computer Systems 
Principles of Computer Science 
Website Development 
Mobile Development 
Digital Graphics and Animation 
Developing Computer Games 
IT Security and Encryption

Students at Coulsdon Sixth Form College study in dedicated computing suites with state of the art IT facilities, including Microsoft Office 2010, Adobe Creative Suite software version 5.0, Apple software development tools (for creating Apple Apps), MIT App Development for Android and Microsoft Visual Studio. There is a 100 Mps network for superfast video streaming.

Course Specific Trips & Visits

The College runs a number of educational experiences each year to enable students to contextualise their learning. These experiences include trips and presentations by visiting speakers.

Recent visits have included one to Thorpe Park to experience how software is used to run some of the attractions.  Students also went to Bletchley Park to visit the Computer Museum.

BTECs in IT are accepted by universities and are an excellent foundation for a range of IT and Computing degree courses.  Success on this course will allow students to progress into IT-related careers including software and games development and IT technical support.

The Extended Diploma is the equivalent to three A Levels.

Students wishing to do BTEC Level 3 courses, need to have (or expect to achieve) at least four GCSE passes at Grade 4 or above with English and Mathematics at 3 or better (and a satisfactory school reference) in order to be accepted on a BTEC Level 3 Programme.

Students should have at least basic IT skills and be interested in the practical aspects of computers, computer science and computer systems. They should be comfortable working with numbers, planning their own learning and working with others. Problem-solving, using their own initiative, meeting coursework deadlines and giving presentations are also requirements of the course.

The course is assessed through a combination of internal and external assessements and two exams. Students will complete 13 units of coursework in each year. Students must pass mandatory units.

The programme of study is varied and is designed to prepare students for the tasks they would face in IT-related jobs, such as software development and systems support. Students will learn by completing projects and exams based on the demands and activities of realistic workplace situations.

The exam board for this course is Pearson BTEC.