Prendergast School · A Level Computer Science · Bridging

Whether you studied CS at GCSE or you're arriving from a completely different background, this site will get you ready for September. Work through it at your own pace: there's no deadline, just a head start.

Start here
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EveryoneCore content. Work through this whatever your background.
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New to CSExtra worked examples and scaffolding. Start here if you didn't take GCSE.
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ExtensionStretch material for those who want to go deeper before September
Six sections · work through in order
01
Foundations
What is Computer Science?
CS is not using computers. It's a discipline for solving problems. We'll draw the line between CS and ICT and look at where the subject goes.
⏱ ~20 min · no prior knowledge needed
02
Foundations
Number systems
Binary, denary, hexadecimal and why computers care. Conversions, worked examples, and practice questions to check yourself.
⏱ ~40 min · practice questions included
03
Foundations
Logic & Boolean algebra
AND, OR, NOT: the building blocks of every circuit and every conditional in your code. Truth tables, logic expressions, and why it all matters.
⏱ ~35 min · practice questions included
04
Foundations
How computers work
Von Neumann architecture, the CPU, memory hierarchy, and the fetch-decode-execute cycle. The machinery behind the code you'll write.
⏱ ~30 min · diagram-led
05
Programming
Python programming
From variables to functions to a mini-project, all runnable in your browser. Gets you back up to speed, or started from scratch.
⏱ ~90 min · run code in your browser
06
September
Ready for September
A taste of what A Level actually looks like, plus a short baseline task to complete and submit before your first lesson.
⏱ ~25 min · submit your baseline task here

One thing to submit before September

At the end of section 6 there's a short baseline task: a few questions and a small Python program. Submit it through the form so we're ready for your first lesson.

Go to section 6 →