Help for parents

BBC Bitesize is great source of help with this subject

"What can I do to help with their CS studies?"

This site contains a lot of resources that we use in class, and work and feedback is given using Google Classroom - which your child will be able to show you at home. Look for their class calendar on the front page, it will tell you everything they are working on and their homeworks.

Why not have a look at the "Special Challenges" section [CLICK HERE] of this website and offer to work through some projects with your child?

Please do not...

The worst thing you can do is say that the subject is too hard for you. This will give your child the message that it is something extra hard or special from any other subject they are studying. It isn't.

You may not understand it at the moment but CS up to GCSE level isn't beyond anyone, you or your child.

Please do...

Ask your child what they are doing in class. We talk about some amazing technology all the time and I'm sure you will find it interesting.

You may also like to learn how to write code yourself. For fun, as a challenge, to motivate your child or as a career change. On that last point, the UK is desperate for coders. It is an excellent career that does not require any formal qualifications - just some coding knowledge.

GCSE revision tips are at the bottom of this page

Broadband access is important in order for students to access online resources and research.

Here are some other things to consider - but they are not mandatory as the school can provide access to all necessary equipment up to 5:30 every school day.

A laptop

Anything will do. It does not need to be special or expensive. I personally favour the Google Chromebook as it cheap, does everything without needing to be maintained, has an all-day battery and no virus worries.

It can't play Call of Duty so time will not be wasted!

N.B. We recommend Google Docs as it can be used on anything with a web browser (including a smart phone).

My thoughts...

I bought my Chromebook years ago and unfortunately it is still working fantastically well. I say this because there are some amazing Chromebooks coming out now but my current Acer Chromebook cost me about £170 and does everything I need.

If you haven't head of them, more Chromebooks were sold in the US last year than Apple - CLICK HERE

Family trips

Trips to places like Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes and the Science museum in London would be fantastic to bring context to learning.

The BBC Microbit

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is a non-profit organisation enabling children around the world to get creative with technology and gain digital skills in school, in clubs and at home.

Just like the BBC Micro Computer in the 1980's, the Microbit is designed to be accessible to all and used by all the family.

For the Microbit website CLICK HERE

Kits costs around £12 CLICK HERE

I have a Microbit, what can I do with it? CLICK HERE

The BBoard. A companion board for eager code hackers.

BBoard RaspberryPi, Arduino, Microbit companion board

The BBoard has just the right components to enable rich engaging lessons, but cheap enough for any department budget. Each board contains:

Red / yellow / green LED
Mini speaker (capable of outputting tones of varying frequency)
Left / right button (heavy duty and durable)
Light sensor (a high quality sensor providing a linear response to visible light)

It is possible to buy direct from the manufacturer R-P-R in Lymington for around £4 each

CLICK HERE

Buy a Raspberry Pi

Studying Computer Science does not require expensive computer equipment, even up through A-levels.

In fact in order to support the Computer Science student a foundation was formed back around 2010 to create a computer that would demystify computer systems and be affordable for everyone.

They created the Raspberry Pi computer.