Edexcel IGCSE Computer Science Tutors Online

Edexcel IGCSE Computer Science is code 4CP0, written for first teaching from September 2017 with the first examination in June 2019. This page works from Issue 1, dated November 2016, which is the only issue of this specification. First certification was in 2019.

The qualification has two externally assessed papers and they are equally weighted at 50% each, so unlike some subjects there is no small second paper to deprioritise. Both papers carry 80 marks, and both are available in June only. There is no November series and no January series, which makes the single summer sitting the whole of the opportunity in a given year.

Paper 1 is Principles of Computer Science, code 4CP0/01. It is a 2-hour examination set and marked by Pearson, worth 50% of the total International GCSE, carrying 80 marks in June. It assesses all topics, and the questions are multiple-choice, short open-response, open-response and extended open-response. All questions are mandatory, so there is no choice to manage.

Paper 2 is Application of Computational Thinking, code 4CP0/02. It is a 3-hour practical examination set and marked by Pearson, also worth 50% and also carrying 80 marks in June. It is longer than Paper 1 by an hour, and that hour matters, because Paper 2 is where students actually build things.

The practical detail of Paper 2 is what separates this qualification from a purely written computer science course. A choice of three programming languages is available, which are Python, C# and Java, and the choice should be settled at the start of the course rather than discovered in the final term. The paper mixes multiple-choice, short open-response, open-response and extended open-response questions with task-based questions, and the task-based questions are carried out using a computer system under supervision, while all the other questions requiring a written response are answered in the paper itself. All questions are mandatory. A pseudocode reference document is available for learners to reference during the assessment.

So Paper 2 is not a pure coding test. It is a supervised session in which a student answers written questions on paper and also completes practical tasks on a machine, in the same three hours, with a pseudocode reference to hand.

The content is organised into six topics: problem solving, programming, data, computers, communication and the internet, and the bigger picture. Paper 1 assesses all six. Paper 2 draws on the algorithm work, the development and testing of program code with its constructs and data types and structures and input and output and operators and subprograms, connecting and using data sources when developing program code, binary representation and data representation and data storage and compression and encryption, and truth tables and logic statements and pseudocode.

The qualification is linear, and the specification states that two examinations must be taken in the same series at the end of the course of study.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the key principles of computer science, is 27.5%. AO2, apply knowledge and understanding of key concepts and principles of computer science, is 42.5%. AO3, analyse problems in computational terms to make reasoned judgements and to design, program, test, evaluate and refine solutions, is 30%.

The two papers weight those objectives very differently, and this is the most useful thing on the page for planning revision. On Paper 1 the split is 21.5% AO1, 21% AO2 and 7.5% AO3. On Paper 2 the split is 6% AO1, 21.5% AO2 and 22.5% AO3.

In plain terms, Paper 1 is where knowledge is rewarded, carrying 21.5% of the qualification in recall and understanding against just 6% on Paper 2. Paper 2 is where the ability to design, program, test, evaluate and refine is rewarded, carrying 22.5% of the qualification in AO3 against only 7.5% on Paper 1. That is three times as much AO3 on the practical paper. A student who can recite the theory but cannot build a working solution will find Paper 2 unforgiving, and a student who can code but has not learned the vocabulary will find Paper 1 equally so.

The specification notes that the qualification is not accredited or regulated by any UK regulatory body, which is worth knowing when comparing it with a UK-regulated qualification.

The qualification is graded and certificated on a nine-grade scale from 9 to 1 using the total subject mark, where 9 is the highest grade. Individual components are not graded. Students whose level of achievement is below the minimum judged by Pearson to be of sufficient standard to receive a certificate get an unclassified U result.