Holly Billinghurst, private tutor at TeachAllAboutIt, former Computer Science teacher and textbook author, talks to Tassomai about what parents need to know about the Computer Science GCSE and how they can support their child with the subject (even if technology isn’t their own strong suit…)

For many parents, Computer Science may be a completely new subject, whereas others may assume it is the same as Computing or ICT. Even if you’re terrified of technology, there’s no reason to fear trying to help your child with this subject. There are lots of ways to break it down, just like any other topic, and help them revise for their exams without being an expert.

As a Computer Science teacher, tutor and parent myself, I’m going to break down a few of the basics to get you feeling comfortable and confident in addressing your child’s needs when it comes to this brilliant subject.

What is Computer Science?

Computer Science is a relatively new subject to the GCSE curriculum and combines elements of Computing with Further Maths topics. Don’t let the mention of Further Maths put your child off though – the mathematical element is very accessibly presented and easy to visualise so students don’t even realise how complicated the topics they are covering really are! This means it can be a great way of showing them how useful mathematical skills can be in the ‘real world’, while also helping them along the way if they choose Maths or Further Maths for A-level. 

Students who struggle with Maths will find Computer Science very challenging, but those who are thriving in Maths or already take Further Maths should find that the overlaps make the subject significantly easier.

The sentence I have to repeat most with new students is that ‘Computer Science is not gaming’! It’s not an easy cop-out subject but it is very interesting and will teach you a range of new skills that could lead to future subjects, coding languages and even careers. The subject is essentially maths with toys! It explores the logic that sits behind it all and teaches students to predict and manipulate calculations.

How is the GCSE structured?

No matter which exam board your child is taking their exams with, they will have 2 papers to sit at the end of the year. The first of these is on theory and practical programming. For this paper they will have to learn either a ‘pseudo code’ or a reference language, which will get them used to the basics of coding and set them up to learn more about them in the future if they wish. This paper also includes computational thinking, which is all about problem solving, finding errors and learning about algorithms.

The second paper contains a mathematical unit, which focuses on basic binaries that are translated by computers to create letters, images and sound. Other units in this paper include looking at the hardware of computers (their physical make up, diagrams of how they’re put together and how they work), as well as delving into the ethical and legal aspects of working with computers. 

Which are the trickiest topics?

‘Coding languages’ are the series of written instructions that computers read and translate into action, and the best way to learn them, just like any other language, is to expose yourself to them as much as possible. If your child turned up to their Spanish oral exam without having practiced any Spanish all year, understandably, they would probably fail, and the same goes for Computer Science. It’s important that they become familiar with the code they’ll use for their exams as early on as possible. 

In my experience, lots of students tend to get a mental block on the ethics questions because they are an essay style question within a subject that feels largely maths-based, but these 6-8 mark questions are nothing to be afraid of and are easy to practice at home. They fill roughly a side of A4 paper and draw on skills from other subjects they’ll probably be studying, like English, Religious Studies, Philosophy or History. The hardest part of these questions is just starting them! Once they’ve begun they usually realise that they know a lot more than they thought they did.

There’s a unit on Networking, which in itself isn’t a tricky topic, but it contains a hefty amount of key terms – in the OCR specification there are 157 key words and definitions that they need to learn! This is definitely the topic where flashcards and tools like Tassomai come in. You can’t apply the knowledge until you know the vocabulary, but luckily this is a very easy revision task to practice with parents at home and a simple way you can help them to succeed in the subject. Once they’re confident in these terms, the rest will follow.

How can parents be of most help?

Don’t tell your child that you hate computers! This may not seem too significant, but students look to their parents to see whether they think they can achieve something, no matter how subconscious this may be. So try to be as encouraging as you can around the subject (even when frazzled by technology at the end of a long day). 

Never be afraid to ask schools for help! Many Computer Science classes are taught by non-specialist teachers but they will still be able to point you towards lots of resources online and offer additional help. 

You don’t need to be an expert

Like most other subjects, Computer Science is just about learning new information and then understanding how it all fits together. For example, when they are learning about the importance of syntax in coding, they have to consider why things sound right when they’re in the correct order. A missed phrase or sequence will have their code sounding like the computer equivalent of Yoda – nearly there but with some gaps that need addressing!

There are plenty of ways parents can help their children with this subject, even without being experts themselves, but it all depends on the child, so talk to them and see which areas they find most and least challenging and start from there.

Computer Science is a subject that lots of parents are scared of because they think they won’t know what’s going on if they try to help, but you just need to treat it like any other revision: make sure your child is practicing and engaging with the subject regularly and have access to any resources they might need. This doesn’t mean they need the latest MacBook, though access to a computer outside of school hours is a massive help, as there are plenty of ways of keeping up a little-and-often revision approach throughout the year, providing they are consistent with it.