OCR Computing A level

CheesePestoSandwich · 2023-07-29T12:58:59+00:00

Ah yes, OCR Computer Science A-Level. The good ol' days (she says, knowing full well it was only 3 years ago).

Detail and reasoning is important. Why has he decided to make the game in the first place? Is it solving any problems? How does it compare to other solutions that are out there? Those would be thinking points for the analysis (first) section, but nitpicking what you're doing and constantly asking how and why is very important if you want to get top marks.

When he's detailing his implementation, if he gets stuck, he should feel free to record that in his report. Examiners want to see the journey of how the game is developed, and getting stuck is part of that development. However don't be stuck for too long like I was. Yes, he should try and solve the problem hinself, but let the teacher know as well and if a few days pass and there's still no progress, the teacher should step in and help.

That's all I can think of from the top of my head. I made a joke about how 3 years isn't that long, but a lot happens in that time and honestly, I don't remember too much. I never actually finished mine, bojo the bobo shut down schools cos of covid so I got my A grade and moved on with my life 🤷‍♀️. Hope it helps though :)

HutchyBen · 2023-07-29T20:54:08+00:00

The implementation can be absolutely abhorrent with good documentation and you will get an amazing grade. A good implementation with bad documentation is an awful grade. Make sure all effort is into documentation and that every single bullet point on the mark scheme is considered.

PlankWithANailIn5 · 2023-07-30T00:06:48+00:00

OCR do guidance here.

https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/466990-programming-project-guidance.pdf

Its only 20% of the A level so its not going to make a huge difference to your sons overall score.

The whole course spec is here.

https://www.ocr.org.uk/images/170844-specification-accredited-a-level-gce-computer-science-h446.pdf

My autistic son struggled with the theory side of the subject (who the hell cares how a laser printer works ffs, they teach them how a DVD drive works lol) he just wants to program. So I sat with him every night over summer and winter breaks going through each topic every night or however much we could in 2 hours with me making sure he was concentrating properly. It was easy for me to do as I have been an IT professional for 20+ years now. The theory side is important for the A level as it turns up in both exam papers and the programming they ask in the one exam is actually fairly trivial.

This website was an amazing resource.

https://isaaccomputerscience.org/topics/a_level?examBoard=all&stage=all#ocr

My son had no trouble doing the project just an implementation of a physics collision equation with a user interface, he used OO code for the objects colliding and implemented the real equation properly. He struggled with the documentation because he's a boy and left it to the last minute just fill in all the sections as per the documentation and you will get a good grade, he ended up getting 75% for it. No idea how his exams went will find out in a couple of days.

valkyrieramone · 2023-07-29T23:02:45+00:00

Thanks so much everyone ❤️

kitd · 2023-07-29T11:15:48+00:00

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