Year10CurriculumPlan–ComputerScience
1.1Systems
Architecture
1.1Memory& Storage
1.3ComputerNetworks,
Connections&Protocols
1.4NetworkSecurity
1.5SystemsSoftware
1.6Ethical,Legal, Cultural& EnvironmentalImpacts OfDigitalTechnology
10
Thisunitexploresthe structureandfunctionof theCPU,includingthe fetch-executecycleand keycomponentslikethe ALU,CU,cache,and registers.Itintroducesthe VonNeumannarchitecture andexplainshowCPU performanceisinfluenced byfactorssuchasclock speed,cachesize,and numberofcores.Italso coversembeddedsystems, highlightingtheirpurpose, characteristics,andrealworldexamples.
Pupilslearnaboutprimary storage(RAMandROM), secondarystoragetypes (optical,magnetic,solid state),andtheimportance ofvirtualmemory.The sectionalsocoversdata units(bittopetabyte), binaryandhexadecimal conversions,andhowdata isstoredandrepresentedin computers,includingtext, images,andsound. Compressiontechniqueslike lossyandlosslessarealso introduced.
Thistopicintroduces differenttypesofnetworks (LANandWAN),network topologies(starandmesh), andthehardwareneeded tobuildnetworks.It explainshowtheinternet works,includingDNS, hosting,andthecloud. Pupilsalsolearnabout wiredandwireless connections,encryption, IP/MACaddressing,and variouscommunication protocolslikeHTTP,FTP, andSMTP,alongwiththe conceptofnetworking layers.
Pupilsexplorevariouscyber threatssuchasmalware, phishing,brute-force attacks,andSQLinjection. Thesectionemphasizesthe importanceofidentifying andpreventing vulnerabilitiesusing methodslikefirewalls,antimalwaresoftware, encryption,anduseraccess controls.Ithighlightshow toprotectsystemsanddata fromunauthorizedaccess andattacks.
Thisunitfocusesonthe roleofoperatingsystems andutilitysoftware.It explainshowoperating systemsmanagehardware andsoftwareresources, includingmemory,files, users,andperipherals. Utilitysoftwareis introducedastoolsthat performmaintenancetasks likeencryption, defragmentation,anddata compression,helpingto keepsystemsrunning efficiently.
Programmingactivitiesinterleavedthroughouttheyear
Pupilswillexaminehow digitaltechnologyaffects society,consideringethical, legal,cultural,and environmentalissues.It includesdiscussionson privacy,dataprotection, andrelevantlawslikethe DataProtectionActand ComputerMisuseAct.The sectionalsocomparesopen sourceandproprietary softwarelicences,helping pupilsunderstandthe implicationsofsoftwareuse anddistribution.