ICT GCE A Level

ICT GCE A Level

Qualification: AS/A2 - 2 year course

Course type: Level 3 (advanced)

Entry requirements:
4 x GCSE B grades

Head of Department: Mr Peter McQuhae

Course assessment:
For practical lessons, you will learn through demonstrations and examples with individual or small group exercises. Theory lessons include individual research and group discussions. You will be asked to complete short tasks and test preparation in your own time and will receive individual feedback from these to help you to develop the required skills. Material will be available via the ICT Department's Intranet pages. At AS level, the Information, Systems and Applications unit is assessed via written examination, Structured ICT Tasks are assessed on 4 examination board set tasks. At A2 level ICT Systems, Applications and Implications is assessed via written examination, the ICT project is assessed on documented evidence of the system you have produced

What can this course offer me?
Information and Communications Technology at A level is a wide-ranging course aimed at students who want to extend their knowledge and skills in using and managing computers and information. It includes analysing existing information systems, developing new ones and studying the applications and effects of such systems in society. It will provide you with a sound base for courses and careers involving management of ICT systems and people.
This is not a skills-based course, but one which involves sound academic study of ICT and which has a strong technical component. However, it will extend your skills, particularly in database design and development, spreadsheet modelling and presentation.
Staff in the ICT department are graduates of ICT or Computing and have a vast knowledge and resource bank for the successful teaching of the subject.

What will I learn?
Course Outline - (Awarding body - OCR)
AS Level Units

Unit 1 - Information, Systems and Applications (External)
Topics covered in this unit: data, information, knowledge and processing; software and hardware components of an information system; spreadsheet concepts; relational database concepts;

Unit 2 - Structured Practical ICT Tasks (Coursework) You will have the opportunity to explore design, software development, testing and documentation.

Unit 3 ICT Systems, Applications and Implications (External)
In this unit you will gain an understanding of the systems cycle;
designing computer-based information systems; networks and
communication; applications of ICT; implementing computer-based
information systems and implications of ICT.

Unit 4 ICT Project (Coursework)
This module will provide you with the opportunity to complete a project involving the production of an ICT-related system

What Makes a good ICT student?
General college entry requirements. There is no need for a student to have followed any Computing or IT course at GCSE. All we want is your enthusiasm for the subject and your wish to learn.

Which other courses link well with this subject?
ICT can be combined with practically any other subject from Sciences, Business Studies or Modern Languages through to virtual stage design in Theatre Studies.

Future Opportunities
ICT offers a wide range of employment and Higher Education possibilities. They are of obvious importance in their own right and can lead to careers in the Information Technology/Computing industry through traditional degrees such as Computing, Information Technology or Systems Engineering. They do offer though much wider opportunities on degree courses such as Multimedia, Virtual Reality, Computer Animation, Visualisation or even Interactive Computer Entertainment

Is there anything else I need to know?
Information and Communications Technology at A level is a wide-ranging course aimed at students who want to extend their knowledge and skills in using and managing computers and information. It includes analysing existing information systems, developing new ones and studying the applications and effects of such systems in society. It will provide you with a sound base for courses and careers involving management of ICT systems and people.