How hard is GCSE Computing comparing A level Computer Science?

There's some new stuff but in general the theory is pretty damn easy, compared to the GCSE I would say the only difficult thing is that your project is completely your choice so no guidelines are given otherwise it's an easy A level

For the project, you can do whatever you want in any language and on anything?

The new A level is quite difficult compared to the GCSE that's just finished. The new GCSE matches up much better so next year's students will have a better understanding of the content before starting AS.

Everything is going much more mathematical and technical. It's fun - my students learn three languages over the two years including one functional language (Haskell for my pupils). There is a project but it's smaller with a lot less evidence based paperwork and more focus on your actual programming skills.

I'm assuming this isn't OCR. OCR only has the most basic maths unfortunately :/

In theory yes, the project has to be sufficiently complex (using relational databases for e.g. ) and hopefully your team can mark it. This is an issue with languages as your teacher has to know the language to mark as well as help you out, however, if you are proficient in a language of your choosing then there's no reason you can't use it

I know this is old and everything but do you do it in your own time or is it all in school time?

Assuming you mean the 'final' A-Level computing project, then there'll probably be a certain amount of time to do bits of your project in lessons, but mostly those lessons will be about getting help and feedback. The vast majority of the A-level computing project will be in your own time - there's usually several months to complete it, but realistically you need to be thinking about spending a couple of hundred hours outside of lessons getting that project done. (remembering that the majority of the marks are for the report - i.e. Planning, Analysis, Feasibility, Requirements, Design, Test planning, Evaluation, etc.)

Assuming you mean the 'final' A-Level computing project, then there'll probably be a certain amount of time to do bits of your project in lessons, but mostly those lessons will be about getting help and feedback. The vast majority of the A-level computing project will be in your own time - there's usually several months to complete it, but realistically you need to be thinking about spending a couple of hundred hours outside of lessons getting that project done. (remembering that the majority of the marks are for the report - i.e. Planning, Analysis, Feasibility, Requirements, Design, Test planning, Evaluation, etc.)

Before it got pulled off because everyone was cheating we had a 20 hour controlled assesment in computer science (that was put to waste and left unmarked cuz cheaters). Assuming you took a level computer science how much more difficult was it and what project were you asked to make? And i assume its also slightly like ICT/RM but on a larger scale because as you said the project isnt the bulk of the marks. If i put alot of time into it is it easy or is it still really difficult. And can you get help from friends or is that considered cheating?

Also, im not that good at programming. We barely scratched the surface of it in my school. Do they teach it properly at a-levels and is it difficult? (im better at hardware)
Oh and thanks for this

I'm currently doing A-Level Computer Science. I didn't do GCSE, but was already proficient in terms of programming in the language which we are (Java).
In the second or third week, the guy sitting next to me, who did do GCSE, told me that the entire class (even those who had never programmed before) had essentially just programmed his entire GCSE coursework project in about two hours. Obviously some implementations were better than others, but his point still stood.
Take from that what you will.