GCSE computer science - how do DCs feel about the syllabus?

[justanotherdaduser]

I had a look at some past GCSE papers after DD started studying computer science in school, and found the papers really dull and uninspiring.

I am in this industry, have a degree in a related field, and even after more than 20 years really enjoy the subject. The papers and the syllabus are almost designed to suck the joy out of studying computer science. DW (also in the same field) feels I am overreacting and DCs should suck it up if they want to study CS later in life.

So was curious about what other DCs who are really keen on programming and computer science feel about the GCSE syllabus and papers. Did they enjoy studying it at GCSE level? Were they inspired?

DC is taking CS at gcse. Totally turned them off coding etc.
used to enjoy the type of work but really hates the subject and wishes they had chosen a different option.
It's also put them off pursuing it as a career

DS found it frustrating that the coding project didn't form part of the actual mark.

However he's now on a Software Engineer degree apprenticeship so it didn't put him off (and that's despite his school not offering A Level CS - which I would suspect is more of a barrier).

thank you @123rd
yes, I fear the same will happen with DD if she does GCSE CS given how dull the syllabus is. She enjoys programming as a hobby, but the grind for exam is quite another matter.

You don't need to do CS GCSE to do CS A level (unless this has changed?)

Similarly you don't need to do CS A level to do a CS degree (I think)

Please check the above before acting on it.

Thanks for your post, @redskydelight
CS is such a practical, hands-on subject, I share your DS's frustration that coding project isn't part of the actual mark.

Well done to him for the degree apprenticeship; I believe they are quite hard to get, and of course fantastic value.

DC has found GCSE dull. Has obtained high marks but has been completely out off a level because GCSE is so boring.

I think it very much depends on how it’s taught and who is doing the teaching much like any other subject .

No, really, the syllabus and the question papers are appallingly dull given how exciting the field is.

It's a rapidly changing industry, and very hands-on. The real advantage is one does not need expensive lab equipment or own personal kit to do fun and useful things. Unlike, say, Physics, which can be equally exciting but doing useful things at this stage is hard.

But if you look at the type of questions asked in the exams (looking at OCR, but others are as bad : www.ocr.org.uk/Images/667555-question-paper-computer-systems.pdf), the paper is full of these types of questions -

(b) Layla also uses utility system software.
(i) State the purpose of utility system software.
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [1]

Or

(b) Describe the cultural impacts of the company bringing out new devices twice a year.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [2]

It's utterly useless stuff at this stage for a CS student, waste of time.

Looking at these, my respect for DCs who presevere through this nonsense to go on to study CS in university has increased. They have the patience of a saint and deserve much more exiting syllabus

DD thinks it’s dull, but I’m tech-adjacent and have a friend who works in tech so she’s well aware that the GCSE/A Level stuff doesn’t really represent what degrees/jobs look like. I’d wager if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t still be aiming for Tech.

I’m a Virologist, and GCSE Biology gave no indication of how much fun/how fascinating a Microbio degree would be. It hasn’t changed in the 20+ years since then either.

Oh goodness! Is it the same in other areas too? 🙁
I just assumed everything else is fine, only CS has a dull and tired syllabus

Dd was in the cohort where the coding element was going to form part of the new gcse mark, 20%. She won't hours doing hers and it was then scrapped in the January before the may exam, due to some centres not following the guidelines properly and giving their pupils an unfair advantage apparently. It was her favourite part of course the gcse and a level CS course, and an area she always scored best in. She was really annoyed about the scrapped coursework, especially as she'd already completed it following the rules.

My DD is enjoying an interesting and well paid career as a software developer. She has no qualifications in the subject and was recruited while studying science at university. She's only 24, so this is recent. Her company also recruits via apprenticeship. They do their own aptitude tests rather than looking for school qualifications in CS.

Look at the edexcel exam board. It's much better because they have a practical coding exam. The Edexcel iGCSE is also pretty good.

I think most STEM are dry in the GCSE/A Level years, and they really don’t need to be.

I knew nothing of Data Science/coding/bioinformatics etc until I did my degree (mature student) and I did about a modules worth per year as well as side small qualifications that were funded by Uni.

Interested me enough to make me apply for a Bioinformatics masters that starts this year; even more so when I realised how ND friendly it is/the money involved.

@RedDogBlueDog , it's common for businesses in UK to hire non-CS graduates in IT and software development roles. Demand for skilled technologist hugely outstrips supply in UK and people in the industry recognise that lot of the required skill can be picked up on the job.

In my work, we hire CS graduates of course, but also very frequent are people with mathematics, physics and engineering degrees. They often have some programming skills and the numeracy skills are in demand too.

I would say other science graduates are relatively rare, for example in 20 years in the industry I have never seen a CV from a biology graduate. Which probably makes sense I guess since they would want to do something else?

sorry, I should have mentioned that this is in the city/financial services area. In other domain, say pharma, biology grads doing software development maybe common.

To answer both @RedDogBlueDog and this post - DD did natural science, but she took the biology pathway and just did psychology in her final year, so it wasn’t that she’d done physics type stuff. But she did have some friends who were studying computing, and she did some hackathons with them for fun, and then her current company sent out a mail shot to final year NS students and it all went from there. So much more through circumstance and aptitude than a plan!

Its my sons worst subject. He hates it. Which is a shame as hes always had a real interest in computers and coding.

We are in another part of the UK where you can do a programming GCSE. My DS doesn’t mind it and is planning to do it for A level.
The teacher is not very inspiring though.
There is however a lot of theory.

My DD also knows plenty of code (from home) and was v keen on the idea of CS GCSE but says the work is dull and too easy.

Such a pity because they have a small group of smart motivated students and could really be teaching them new fun stuff like building games or machine learning rather than just definitions of terms.

Maybe much of a muchness, but it depends on the exam board. OCR is less coding based but AQA has a higher coding component, at least going by my dd and ds who went to different schools and took Computing at GCSE.

Thanks, will take a look. Another poster said edexcel is also similarly better, so will check that too. Not that it makes much difference in DD's school's choice of board, but good to know there are better options.