
Exam and revision advice to help you get your target grades in GCSE Computer Science
When you're revising for your GCSE exams, you want to make the most of your study time.
So, we invited the experts at the AQA exam board to share their tips and advice on preparing for GCSE Computer Science exams.
The article that follows has been written by an AQA curriculum expert, based on their years of experience in the assessment of their subject.
You can find more articles in this series, covering a range of subjects at both GCSE and A-level, over on our revision section.
Also on The Student Room, you can find student discussion of 2024 GCSE exams.

Do...
1) DO plan your revision
- Prioritise your time. Creating a revision timetable will help you to focus your time and concentrate on a range a subjects. Remember to plan in breaks.
- Begin with a brain splurge. Get everything you can remember about a topic on paper. This will help you to understand what you know well - and, more importantly, where there are gaps in your knowledge.
- Think about how you present your revision. Some people find that images and mind maps help them to remember and will show the necessary links between topics, others find that flash cards containing important information work for them.
- Revise smaller chunks of content more frequently in the run-up to the exam. For more effective revision, do this throughout the course.
2) DO lots of practice. Then do some more. And then practise some more
- Practise the easy things to reduce the risk of making silly mistakes.
- Look for links between different areas of the specification. The quality of your revision will improve if you interweave different but related topics into your revision.
- Past papers or groups of questions on a topic that you know you need to work on are a great help. Ask your teacher for the AQA mark scheme and use this to mark your work to improve your exam technique.
- Go back over questions and papers you’ve already done and have another go. You’ll see yourself improving and build your confidence.
- Practise your mental arithmetic. Remember that you can’t use a calculator in either exam.
- Try handwriting programs and then try them in an IDE. You’ll be able to see if the program compiles or if there are any syntax errors that you would need to correct in your handwritten program.
- Programming will help to develop your logical, computational and analytical thinking skills. These skills are fundamental to computer science and will help across a range of subjects. Have a go at some of the programming challenges on our website.
3) DO monitor your revision as you’re doing it
- Are you being systematic, studying all of the material for the exam?
- Are you taking advantage of all of the learning support available to you? Have you looked at the range of teaching guides on our website which may help with some of the more trickier topics.
- Lacking motivation? Try to remember why you’re studying this subject - be positive.
- Getting bogged down? Take a break and re-focus.
4) DO make sure that, in the exam, you read the question carefully, identifying the correct command word
- Identify key words and parts of the question instruction, especially the command words as this will help you focus on answering the question. A common error students make is writing a description when they’ve been asked for an explanation.
- Try to use the correct technical terms when answering questions that require an explanation.
- Don’t write unqualified responses such as quicker/faster/easier - these won’t gain marks.
- Where the question asks for two answers, give two, not one or three.
5) DO make sure that, when answering a question which requires an algorithm to be created using pseudo-code or a flowchart, the instructions you give are clear and unambiguous
- Use the space provided in the exam paper to plan algorithms.
- Use indentations to make it easier to read and follow the structure of the algorithm.
- Become familiar with the AQA pseudo-code.
- Tick off each step in the question as you complete it so you don’t miss anything.
6) DO make sure that, when answering the programming questions, you use the correct programming language
- In the programming exam, it will be clear which language to use. Your teacher will have entered you for an exam using either Python, VB.Net or C#. Questions that required a programmed solution will normally start with: ‘Write a Python program...’ OR ‘Write a VB.Net program...’ OR ‘Write a C# program...’
- Remember to write your program code in the answer space provided.
- Use the indentations in the answer space and a separate line for each line of code, just like you would if writing the program on a computer.
- Try to make your handwritten code as clear as possible so that the examiner can see how your program works.
7) DO use appropriate vocabulary to show that you understand key computer science ideas and techniques
- Proper application of knowledge is important to show understanding.
- Make sure you familiarise yourself with the vocabulary of computer science.
8) DO show your working in calculations. Well-structured answers with the odd word of explanation may help you answer questions
- It’ll make it easier for you to follow your working.
- Showing your working demonstrates understanding of the task and shows your thought process.
- Your working out could still earn marks, even if the final answer is wrong.
9) DO keep going right to the end of a paper
- You’ll be able to pick up marks for partly answering questions even if you don’t get to the end of the exam paper.
- Attempt to do something on every question.
- If you’ve got the time at the end of the exam, read through your answers and correct any mistakes that you may have made.
10) DO use exam wrappers to evaluate your exam preparation
- What worked well? Use it again.
- What didn’t work so well? Avoid it or change it for next time.
- Ask your teacher to share the examiners’ report, this is a great way to understand how other students performed in previous exams, more importantly it shows common misconceptions which will help in your understanding.
Don't...
1) DON’T panic
- You’ll know more than you think you do, and everyone taking the exam is in the same boat.
- In GCSE Computer Science, 40% of the marks are for applying knowledge in unfamiliar contexts. You’ll be asked questions in contexts that you haven’t studied in class - but don’t let this put you off. Think how the computer science you’ve studied relates to the question being asked.
2) DON’T start writing straight away
- You do have to hand write program code in the exam, you have 2 hrs to finish the exam. That’s plenty of time to have the opportunity to think about how you will structure your code before you begin to write it down.
- Think about what the question is asking you and plan your answer so that you give a coherent, sequenced line of reasoning that answers the question.
- Don’t simply repeat what the question is asking.
- Look at the question and how many marks are available, this will give you an idea of how many points to make in your answer. There’s a limit to how many marks each question is worth, spending time writing long answers may not get more marks. It’s more important to make sure you answer all parts of the question rather than spending valuable time writing a lot about the part you know the most about.
3) DON’T leave gaps
- If you don’t think you know an answer, work out what the question is asking and then make an intelligent guess.
- Remember the first part of the next question may be easier than the question you’re answering. If you get stuck, don’t give up - try the next question.
- In programming questions marks can be awarded for stages of the program, such as design and identifying variables. Even if you can’t complete the program, have a go.
4) DON’T just guess an answer on multiple choice questions or jump to the first answer that may be right
- Take a little time to look at the options, scribble down some working if it helps and come to a decision on the right answer.
- If you do make a mistake, cross it out and make it clear that this isn’t your final answer.
- Remember that often the ‘wrong’ options are chosen because they’re common mistakes.