OCR Computer Science - H046, H446(New specification) Help with past papers.

Recently at my school we had a seminar which outlined the 'best ways to study'. This Seminar placed a large amount of emphasis on doing past papers, understandably so as they are a great revision tool.

However, I am stuck trying to find relevant computer science past papers to use due to the computer science specification that I am studying being new this year and therefore having no past paper.

Having said this, there are old spec past papers available; my questions then, are:

Where can i find relevant past papers or exam style questions to practice with?
Will the past papers from the old spec suffice despite being somewhat different?
What alternatives are there to using past papers to practice?

Thank you in advance :smile:

Reply 1

scottmn108

2

Hi, I am doing the same spec as you are and OCR have not endorsed any more papers from what I can tell. Answers to your questions:

1) OCR have released 2 practice papers on AS and A level on their website here: (http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-a-level-gce-computer-science-h046-h446-from-2015/) under "Assessment resources" with mark schemes. There are also some other papers which have been created and you can preview here: (http://zigzageducation.co.uk/synopses/6076-ocr-computer-science-practice-papers.asp). These are quite helpful, regardless of whether you are taking AS or A level, plus, the 2016 AS papers will be available after June 2016 10 days after the exam for teachers.

2) Some of the old spec is relevant, for example: algorithms, computational methods, most of the binary and logic gates from what I can tell (etc). It is worth doing some questions from them for practice but tbh the latest papers are likely to be more challenging.

3) I like using past papers but as us lot are the first years to do this specification, there are few resources available. Personally, I learn the content and find practice questions from a number of sources:
a) OCR have released an AS and A level book which covers a lot of the content with some questions. (ISBN: 978-1-471-83976-4)
b) Sometimes, GCSE papers (especially on the new 1-9 spec) have a lot of crossover: http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse-computer-science-j276-from-2016/ Some of the questions are useful.
c) Online books from WJEC are good sometimes as well: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=x8iySBMA6yUC&pg=PT102&lpg=PT102&dq=normalising+database+from+flat+file+examples&source=bl&ots=SAXrHiaKot&sig=ew-Cbq-sTf_4L25NGBUnH15Xti0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbhcSEhe7KAhUMcBoKHacsC3QQ6AEIUTAI#v=onepage&q=normalising%20database%20from%20flat%20file%20examples&f=false
d) Finally, the delivery guides and exploration packs on OCR's AS/A level computer science website also give some content and questions.

I am teaching myself this specification (AS) along side GCSE computing. It is not that challenging in terms of content, but it is strongly application based, so I would recommend looking into great detail about certain topics. Hope this helps :-)

Reply 2

Hajime

OP

2

Original post by scottmn108

Hi, I am doing the same spec as you are and OCR have not endorsed any more papers from what I can tell. Answers to your questions:

1) OCR have released 2 practice papers on AS and A level on their website here: (http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-a-level-gce-computer-science-h046-h446-from-2015/) under "Assessment resources" with mark schemes. There are also some other papers which have been created and you can preview here: (http://zigzageducation.co.uk/synopses/6076-ocr-computer-science-practice-papers.asp). These are quite helpful, regardless of whether you are taking AS or A level, plus, the 2016 AS papers will be available after June 2016 10 days after the exam for teachers.

2) Some of the old spec is relevant, for example: algorithms, computational methods, most of the binary and logic gates from what I can tell (etc). It is worth doing some questions from them for practice but tbh the latest papers are likely to be more challenging.

3) I like using past papers but as us lot are the first years to do this specification, there are few resources available. Personally, I learn the content and find practice questions from a number of sources:
a) OCR have released an AS and A level book which covers a lot of the content with some questions. (ISBN: 978-1-471-83976-4)
b) Sometimes, GCSE papers (especially on the new 1-9 spec) have a lot of crossover: http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse-computer-science-j276-from-2016/ Some of the questions are useful.
c) Online books from WJEC are good sometimes as well: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=x8iySBMA6yUC&pg=PT102&lpg=PT102&dq=normalising+database+from+flat+file+examples&source=bl&ots=SAXrHiaKot&sig=ew-Cbq-sTf_4L25NGBUnH15Xti0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbhcSEhe7KAhUMcBoKHacsC3QQ6AEIUTAI#v=onepage&q=normalising%20database%20from%20flat%20file%20examples&f=false
d) Finally, the delivery guides and exploration packs on OCR's AS/A level computer science website also give some content and questions.

I am teaching myself this specification (AS) along side GCSE computing. It is not that challenging in terms of content, but it is strongly application based, so I would recommend looking into great detail about certain topics. Hope this helps :-)

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. It has certainly helped!

One more question if I may, how useful do you find the questions in the textbook?

I have a copy of the textbook and having been completing the questions it offers but I feel as if these questions are more about repeating what was previously said in the book rather than applying the knowledge in a way that an exam would test.

P.s, good luck with the self-teaching! Exams can be hard enough, let alone when you have to teach yourself.

Reply 3

stevebutler2210

I have heard that the OCR Textbook contains a high volume of errors, so that is definitely something to bear in mind when using it to study from!

Personally, I would be really interested to know if anyone on TSR is currently enrolled on the Pembrokeshire College LearnOnline course for this spec? I'm keen to take the CS A Level while working full time, and they seem to be the only provider currently offering a distance learning course.

I have previously had good experiences with the National Extension College, who provided me with exhaustive study materials when I enrolled with them for Edexcel Maths A Level. Just wondering if anyone knew if Pembrokeshire provide something similar for their distance learning courses - it's not really clear on the website, and I don't want to end up paying £600 to be sent a £30 textbook and given a couple of basic TMAs.

If they will provide comprehensive study materials for the entire specification, then I'm happy to pay the price, but with no reviews for the course at present it's hard to know whether or not to take the plunge! I know it's possible to self teach the lot via a variety of online resources, but I figure if I can pay for a package that definitively covers everything I'll need to know, and keeps it all in one place, then it's worth the money.

Reply 4

scottmn108

2

Original post by Hajime

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. It has certainly helped!

One more question if I may, how useful do you find the questions in the textbook?

I have a copy of the textbook and having been completing the questions it offers but I feel as if these questions are more about repeating what was previously said in the book rather than applying the knowledge in a way that an exam would test.

P.s, good luck with the self-teaching! Exams can be hard enough, let alone when you have to teach yourself.

The questions to be honest are not very helpful. No mark schemes, little if any application questions and a lot of tasks not relevant at all. Some are challenging here and there, but still not that useful in the long run. Forgot to mention: try the following people: craigndave. They have a website and create YouTube videos for all points on the spec. Brilliant for me :-) Good luck; btw, when are you taking your exam and is it A or AS level?

Reply 5

neffieblue

Most useful resource I have found for the New AS Computing H046 specs are the CraigNDave resources - lots of videos for every section of the specification and lots of practice questions (but these you have to pay for - around £150, but worth it if you are trying to self-teach yourself)

Reply 6

scottmn108

2

Original post by neffieblue

Most useful resource I have found for the New AS Computing H046 specs are the CraigNDave resources - lots of videos for every section of the specification and lots of practice questions (but these you have to pay for - around £150, but worth it if you are trying to self-teach yourself)

Problem is that £150 is still quite a lot for me, and TBH the questions on the old A levels seem good enough. How good are the practice questions they produce?

Reply 7

AyPee

So guys i done my computer science AS and got my results, i ended up with a U.
Have any of you guys got any more resources that i can use cause i want to try get a B for Alevel and work my ass of.

Reply 8

tbator

7

Original post by AyPee

So guys i done my computer science AS and got my results, i ended up with a U.
Have any of you guys got any more resources that i can use cause i want to try get a B for Alevel and work my ass of.

I would reccomend getting the OCR computer science Text Book, it goes in depth, but a U really? what are your predicted grades

Reply 9

Fastreplie

A software company is going to write a policy on tis use of varaibles when writing programs the policy will cover these of local and global variables and variable naming rules and conventions discuss the content of the policy and why it is required

need help answer it

Reply 10

moti-1_

1

hey guys i jus wanted to ask, does paper 1 only consist of module 1 or will it also have the algorithm stuff. for example in chemistry or biology both the papers could have anything from the whole spec. is it the same with CS

Reply 11

Kyle03

6

Original post by moti-1_

hey guys i jus wanted to ask, does paper 1 only consist of module 1 or will it also have the algorithm stuff. for example in chemistry or biology both the papers could have anything from the whole spec. is it the same with CS

The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices
• Software and software development
• Programming
• Exchanging data
• Data types, data structures and algorithms
• Legal, moral, ethical and cultural issues

Last years paper required you to write some pseudocode, but not of searching and sorting algorithms.

H046-01 QP Jun16.pdf610.0KB

Reply 12

tbator

7

Original post by Kyle03

The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices
• Software and software development
• Programming
• Exchanging data
• Data types, data structures and algorithms
• Legal, moral, ethical and cultural issues

Last years paper required you to write some pseudocode, but not of searching and sorting algorithms.

hey do you know where i can find the mark scheme for that paper.

Reply 13

Kyle03

6

Original post by tbator

hey do you know where i can find the mark scheme for that paper.

Mark scheme

H046-01_MS_June16.pdf478.8KB

Reply 14

tbator

7

Original post by Kyle03

Mark scheme

cheers

Reply 15

UsKmekwioz

9

Hey has anyone got the paper 2 mark Scheme?

Reply 16

DanTheBoy

2

Yeah does anyone have the paper 2 mark scheme and can also someone help me with passing by reference and by value like with some examples please and thanks