A Level Computer Science

Hills Road Sixth Form College

Hills Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 8PE

GCE A/AS Level or Equivalent

Level 3

Available start dates

Tuesday, 01 September 2026

Hills Road Sixth Form College

2 Year(s)

Full time

Daytime/working hours

Course Summary

Ever wondered how the web works or how to develop a computer game?

Computer Science is an exciting and challenging subject in which you will develop valuable skills in problem-solving as well as learning how computers work.

About the Course

You will learn how to design and develop new software to solve problems, whilst also learning how complex computer systems from processors to the Internet work. The course is focused on problem solving and programming. You will learn how to analyse problems, design algorithms and write programs. Some students have no previous programming experience and we assume none, so we start from the beginning. We offer excellent support in the form of online resources and one-to-one help. However, we provide adequate challenges for the increasing number of students who have taken a GCSE in Computing or Computer Science. The course is not just about programming. It also covers a wide range of other topics, including hardware, database design, data structures, algorithm complexity and networking. There is an active student-run Computer Science society which organises a programme of guest speakers giving an insight into Computer Science in higher education and industry.

Opportunities unique to this course

Studying Computer Science provides you with the opportunity to develop your analytical thinking and problem-solving skills; all highly valued by employers and universities. Throughout the course, you will work on projects that gradually become more substantial, thus allowing you to grow into a rounded individual capable of undertaking new challenges, both within and outside of Computer Science.

Course Details

First year

Topics include: the fundamentals of procedural & object-oriented programming; data structures: arrays, records and files; finite state machines & regular expressions; data representation: numbers, characters, sounds and graphics; computer systems: languages, translators, Boolean algebra and logic gates; computer organisation & architecture: the processor, assembly and language; communications & networking; encryption; consequences of uses of computing; database design and SQL.

Second year

Topics include: a substantial coding project; advanced programming techniques, including object-oriented programming; recursion; data structures: lists, stacks, queues, trees and hash tables; fundamentals of functional programming; advanced theory of computation: asymmetric encryption; algorithm complexity; regular and context-free languages; Turing machines; the internet: protocols and security.

How will it be delivered and assessed?

Consists of one on-screen exam, one written exam and one non-examined assessment:

Paper 1: On-screen exam (2hr 30mins, 40%)

Paper 2: Written exam (2hr 30mins, 40%)

Non-examined assessment 20%

Entry requirements

You need to be qualified by both the relevant Admissions Score AND the predicted GCSE grade for each A level you apply for.

Please go to the College website to find the most up-to-date entry requirements for each A level that we offer: https://www.hillsroad.ac.uk/study-with-us/a-level-subjects

You can also visit www.hillsroad.ac.uk/apply to find out more about making your application.

Your next steps...

Common career paths include software engineering, app and web development. There are many fields that our alumni pursue careers in, including the sciences, engineering, business and health care sectors. Some have even become data analysts and artificial intelligence engineers.

For more information and to read the FAQs for this subject visit www.hillsroad.ac.uk/computer-science

Additional information

https://www.hillsroad.ac.uk/computer-science

For more courses like this, check our courses page.