AQA A-Level Computer Science help

Hi,

I'm studying AQA A-Level CompSci and currently in Year 12 but struggling a bit, especially with OOP and programming. Does anyone have any tips on how to do well, in terms of revision of theory and and get A*-A?

I find that whenever I try and revise or do practise questions, I sort of worry and panic and just can't get myself to focus on the work, and this seems to be just an issue with CompSci. I also do Maths, FM and Physics and am fine in the other subjects but somehow struggling to revise for CompSci. Found GCSE really straightforward and got an easy 9, but A-Level is proving harder than I thought...

Thanks in advance!

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 1

AMBITIOUSLEARNER

OP

9

Does anyone also have any advice on projects for NEA?

Reply 2

vnayak

16

Original post by AMBITIOUSLEARNER

Does anyone also have any advice on projects for NEA?

Do something you enjoy. I found that towards the end of the project, I lost all motivation to the point where I just didn't care though I did pick something I enjoyed. I know it's got to suit your end user's requirements but make sure you pick an end user problem that also really interests you. I did and I will not disclose any details about what it was but while it was fun to make, the documentation process took everything out of me, not to mention that EPQ was the same since I had delayed the completion of both of these. Get all of the programming out of the way before October I would say so that you have a calm year 13. This year, I had two admissions tests, an interview, an EPQ and loads of mocks and tests from school (not to mention 4 A levels like you: FM, CS, Maths and Chem) so I fell behind by quite a bit. School didn't really help the picture in terms of workload.

Reply 3

vnayak

16

Original post by AMBITIOUSLEARNER

Hi,

I'm studying AQA A-Level CompSci and currently in Year 12 but struggling a bit, especially with OOP and programming. Does anyone have any tips on how to do well, in terms of revision of theory and and get A*-A?

I find that whenever I try and revise or do practise questions, I sort of worry and panic and just can't get myself to focus on the work, and this seems to be just an issue with CompSci. I also do Maths, FM and Physics and am fine in the other subjects but somehow struggling to revise for CompSci. Found GCSE really straightforward and got an easy 9, but A-Level is proving harder than I thought...

Thanks in advance!

There is genuinely nothing to do for CompSci in terms on online resources. Try Isaac Computer Science but not all of the content on there is required so you need to be careful about what you learn. Don't worry - initially, I too struggled with OOP when I started but I've quickly got used to it to the point where my NEA wouldn't function without it. It's a really useful skill so I would recommend getting used to it.

Reply 4

vnayak

16

Original post by AMBITIOUSLEARNER

Hi,

I'm studying AQA A-Level CompSci and currently in Year 12 but struggling a bit, especially with OOP and programming. Does anyone have any tips on how to do well, in terms of revision of theory and and get A*-A?

I find that whenever I try and revise or do practise questions, I sort of worry and panic and just can't get myself to focus on the work, and this seems to be just an issue with CompSci. I also do Maths, FM and Physics and am fine in the other subjects but somehow struggling to revise for CompSci. Found GCSE really straightforward and got an easy 9, but A-Level is proving harder than I thought...

Thanks in advance!

The only other thing I can say is that making flashcards might help some people? but not everyone so it's up to you. what have you been doing up to now?

Reply 5

AMBITIOUSLEARNER

OP

9

Original post by vnayak

There is genuinely nothing to do for CompSci in terms on online resources. Try Isaac Computer Science but not all of the content on there is required so you need to be careful about what you learn. Don't worry - initially, I too struggled with OOP when I started but I've quickly got used to it to the point where my NEA wouldn't function without it. It's a really useful skill so I would recommend getting used to it.

Thank you so much that’s very helpful! Do you have any advice on how I can get better with OOP?

Reply 6

AMBITIOUSLEARNER

OP

9

Original post by vnayak

The only other thing I can say is that making flashcards might help some people? but not everyone so it's up to you. what have you been doing up to now?

I’ve been trying to revise theory using Anki flashcards and practise questions on PMT.

Reply 7

vnayak

16

Original post by AMBITIOUSLEARNER

I’ve been trying to revise theory using Anki flashcards and practise questions on PMT.

Yeah that's all I do. Make your own set and learn from there. Did you do the GCSE? If so, you should already be in an advantageous position to understand a lot of the content since it just goes into a bit more depth in each topic.

Reply 8

vnayak

16

Original post by AMBITIOUSLEARNER

Thank you so much that’s very helpful! Do you have any advice on how I can get better with OOP?

I would say the only thing you can do to get better is to actually build programs so that you have a visual idea of what each concept actually is.

Reply 9

Drjulennefoeu

1

I’m in year 12 and I do the exact same alevels as you. For my CompSci revision I use isaaccomputerscience mainly as it helps with the pseudocode and programming aspects. Looking through topic questions on exampaperspractice
And watching craigndave videos

AQA A-Level Computer Science help

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