International GCSE

Computer
Science
(9210) Specification

For teaching from September 2017 onwards

For exams May/June 2019 onwards
For teaching and examination outside
the United Kingdom
OxfordAQA International GCSE Computer Science (9210).
For International GCSE exams May/June 2019 onwards. Version 3.0

Contents
1 Introduction 5
1.1 Why choose OxfordAQA International GCSEs? 5

1.2 Why choose our International GCSE Computer Science? 5

1.3 Recognition 6

1.4 Support and resources to help you teach 6

2 Specification at a glance 8
2.1 Subject content 8

2.2 Assessments 9

3 Subject content 10
3.1 Algorithms 10

3.2 Programming 12

3.3 Data representation 19

3.4 Computer systems 24

3.5 Computer networks 27

3.6 Cyber security 29

3.7 Relational databases and structured query language (SQL) 31

3.8 Web page design 32

4 Scheme of assessment 34
4.1 Aims and learning outcomes 34

4.2 Assessment Objectives 35

4.3 Assessment weightings 35

5 General administration 36
5.1 Entries and codes 36

5.2 Overlaps with other qualifications 36

5.3 Awarding grades and reporting results 36

5.4 Resits 36

5.5 Previous learning and prerequisites 36

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5.6 Access to assessment: equality and inclusion 37

5.7 Working with OxfordAQA for the first time? 37

5.8 Private candidates 37

Are you using the latest version of this specification?

• You will always find the most up-to-date version of this specification on our website at oxfordaqa.com/9210

• We will write to you if there are significant changes to the specification.

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1 Introduction
1.1 Why choose OxfordAQA International GCSEs?
Our international qualifications enable schools that follow an English curriculum to benefit from the best education
expertise in England.

Our International GCSEs offer the same rigour and high quality as GCSEs in England and are relevant and
appealing to students worldwide. They reflect a deep understanding of the needs of teachers and schools around
the globe and are brought to you by Oxford University Press and AQA, the UK’s leading awarding body.

Providing fair, valid and reliable assessments, these qualifications are based on over 100 years of experience,
academic research and international best practice. They have been independently validated as being of the same
standard as the qualifications accredited by England’s examinations regulator, Ofqual. They reflect the latest
changes to the English system, enabling students to progress to higher education with up-to-date qualifications.

You can find out about OxfordAQA at oxfordaqa.com

1.2 Why choose our International GCSE Computer

Science?
The OxfordAQA International GCSE takes a highly practical approach to teaching computer science. Students
will spend the majority of the course learning to design, write and test computer programs using a high-level
programming language. They will also have the opportunity to cover other useful practical skills such as web page
design using HTML and working with relational databases using SQL.

The course content has been selected to provide students with the key skills required to go on to follow further
qualification or in the workplace, to allow students to be creative and to give them an understanding of important
aspects of computer science beyond programming.

Programming skills are assessed by a practical programming exam with a pre-release skeleton program, which
students can complete in the programming language that they have used throughout the course. AQA has
considerable experience of successfully delivering computer science qualifications, including written on-screen
programming exams in England.

You can find out about all our International GCSE Computer Science qualifications at
oxfordaqa.com/computerscience

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1.3 Recognition
OxfordAQA meet the needs of international students. Please refer to the published timetables on the exams
administration page of our website (oxfordaqa.com/exams-administration) for up to date exam timetabling
information. They are an international alternative and comparable in standard to the Ofqual regulated qualifications
offered in the UK.

Our qualifications have been independently benchmarked by UK NARIC, the UK national agency for providing
expert opinion on qualifications worldwide. They have confirmed they can be considered ‘comparable to the
overall GCE A-level and GCSE standard offered in England’. Read their report at oxfordaqa.com/recognition

To see the latest list of universities who have stated they accept these international qualifications, visit
oxfordaqa.com/recognition

1.4 Support and resources to help you teach

We know that support and resources are vital for your teaching and that you have limited time to find or develop
good quality materials. That’s why we’ve worked with experienced teachers to provide resources that will help you
confidently plan, teach and prepare for exams.

Teaching resources
You will have access to:

• sample scheme of work with resource list to help you plan your course with confidence

• training courses to help you deliver our qualifications

• student textbooks that have been checked and approved by us

• engaging worksheets and activities developed by teachers, for teachers

• switching guide

• teacher guide that includes pseudocode guide, programming language comparison and command words

• teachers’ notes.

Preparing for exams

You will have access to the support you need to prepare for our exams, including:

• specimen papers and mark schemes

• exemplar student answers with examiner commentaries.

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Analyse your students’ results with Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA)

After the first examination series, you can use this tool to see which questions proved to be the most challenging,
how the results compare to previous years’ and where your students need to improve. ERA, our free online results
analysis tool, will help you see where to focus your teaching.

Information about results, including maintaining standards over time, grade boundaries and our post-results
services, will be available on our website in preparation for the first examination series.

Help and support

Visit our website for information, guidance, support and resources at oxfordaqa.com/9210

You can contact the subject team directly at [email protected] or call us on

+44 (0)161 696 5995 (option 1 and then 1 again).

Please note: We aim to respond to all email enquiries within two working days.

Our UK office hours are Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm.

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2 Specification at a glance
The title of the qualification is:

• OxfordAQA International GCSE Computer Science.

2.1 Subject content

1 Algorithms (page 10)

2 Programming (page 12)

3 Data representation (page 19)

4 Computer systems (page 24)

5 Computer networks (page 27)

6 Cyber security (page 29)

7 Relational databases and structured query language (SQL) (page 31)

8 Web page design (page 32).

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2.2 Assessments
Paper 1: Programming + Paper 2: Concepts and principles of computer
science
What’s assessed What’s assessed

Writing and testing computer programs, Knowledge and understanding of the key concepts
understanding programming concepts and being and principles of computer science.
able to analyse problems in computational terms.

How it’s assessed How it’s assessed

On-screen programming exam based on a Written exam.

pre-released skeleton program.
Length of exam: 2 hours.
Length of exam: 2 hours.
80 marks.
80 marks.
50% weighting.
50% weighting.

The pre-released skeleton program will be made

available to centres on the 1st of March (May/
June examination) and 1st August (November
examination) of the year of the examination.

The assessment will be available in the following

languages:

• C#

• Python 3

• Visual Basic.

Questions Questions

The question paper will have the following structure: A mixture of question types including multiple
choice, short and longer answer questions.
Section A: Questions about programming that test
programming concepts and some non-programming
aspects of the skeleton program.

Section B: Short programming questions which

require students to make small modifications to the
skeleton program, e.g. correcting errors or writing up
to several lines of program code.

Section C: Longer programming questions which

require students to make major modifications to
the skeleton program and will typically require more
analysis than Section B questions, eg writing new
subroutines, adding significant new functionality to
the skeleton program.

Responses to questions will be recorded in a word-

processed document, known as the electronic
answer document.

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3 Subject content
3.1 Algorithms
3.1.1 Representing algorithms
Content Additional information
Understand and explain the term algorithm. An algorithm is a sequence of steps that can be
followed to complete
a task.

Be aware that a computer program is an

implementation of an algorithm and that an algorithm
is not a computer program.
Understand and explain the term decomposition. Decomposition means breaking a problem into a
number of sub problems, so that each sub problem
accomplishes an identifiable task, which might itself be
further subdivided.
Understand and explain the term abstraction. Abstraction is the process of removing unnecessary
detail from a problem.
Use a systematic approach to problem solving and Any exam question where students are given
algorithm creation representing those algorithms using pseudocode will use the Oxford International AQA
pseudocode and flowcharts. standard version. However, when students are writing
their own pseudocode they may do so
using any form as long as the meaning is clear and
unambiguous.
Explain simple algorithms in terms of their inputs, Students must be able to identify where inputs,
processing and outputs. processing and outputs are taking place within an
algorithm.
Determine the purpose of simple algorithms. Students should be able to use trace tables and visual
inspection to determine how simple algorithms work
and what their purpose is.

3.1.2 Efficiency of algorithms

Content Additional information
Understand that more than one algorithm can be used
to solve the same problem.
Compare the efficiency of algorithms explaining how Formal comparisons of algorithmic efficiency are not
some algorithms are more efficient than others in required.
solving the same problem.
Exam questions in this area will only refer to time
efficiency.

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3.1.3 Searching algorithms

Content Additional information
Understand and explain how the linear search Students should know the mechanics of the algorithm
algorithm works. and be able to follow and write pseudo-code for it.
Understand and explain how the binary search Students should know the mechanics of the iterative
algorithm works. version of the algorithm and be able to follow and write
pseudocode for it.
Compare and contrast linear and binary search Students should know the advantages and
algorithms. disadvantages of both algorithms.

3.1.4 Sorting algorithms

Content Additional information
Understand and explain how the merge sort algorithm Students should know the mechanics of recursive
works. version of the algorithm.

It will be sufficient for students to explain this algorithm

in prose; they will not be expected to be able to write
pseudocode for it.

Students should be able to demonstrate how a merge

sort would be performed on a given set of data.
Understand and explain how the bubble sort algorithm Students should know the mechanics of the algorithm
works. and be able to follow and write pseudo-code for it.

Students will be expected to know the version of the

algorithm that uses two nested loops, with the outer
loop being indefinitely controlled by a condition that
tests if any swaps were made and the inner loop being
controlled definitely.
Compare and contrast merge sort and bubble sort Students should know the advantages and
algorithms. disadvantages of both algorithms.

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3.2 Programming
Students need a theoretical understanding of all the topics in this section for the exams even if the programming
language(s) they have been taught do not support all of the topics. Written exams will always present algorithms
and code segments using the OxfordAQA’ pseudocode, which can be found in the teaching guidance on the
OxfordAQA website, although students can present their answers to questions in any suitable format and do not
need to use the pseudocode when answering questions.

3.2.1 Data types

Content Additional information
Understand the concept of a data type. Depending on the actual programming language(s)
being used by the students, these variable types may
Understand and use the following appropriately: have other names. For example real numbers may be
described as float. In exams we will use the general
• integer
names given in this specification.
• real

• Boolean

• character

• string.

3.2.2 Programming concepts

Content Additional information
Use, understand and know how the following The three combining principles (sequence, iteration/
statement types can be combined in programs: repetition and selection/choice) are basic to all
imperative programming languages.
• variable declaration
Students should be able to write programs using these
• constant declaration statement types. They should be able to interpret
algorithms that include these statement types.
• assignment
Students should know why named constants and
• iteration
variables are used.
• selection

• subroutine (procedure/function).

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Content Additional information

Use definite and indefinite iteration, including indefinite A theoretical understanding of condition(s) at either
iteration with the condition(s) at the start or the end of end of an iterative structure is required, regardless of
the iterative structure. whether or not they are supported by the language(s)
being used.

An example of definite iteration would be:

FOR i1 TO 5
… Instructions here …
ENDFOR
An example of indefinite iteration with the condition at
the start would be:

WHILE NotSolved
… Instructions here …
ENDWHILE
An example of indefinite iteration with the condition at
the end would be:

REPEAT
… Instructions here …
UNTIL Solved
Use nested selection and nested iteration structures. An example of nested iteration would be:

WHILE NotSolved
… Instructions here …
FOR i1 TO 5
… Instructions here …
ENDFOR
… Instructions here …
ENDWHILE
An example of nested selection would be:

IF GameWon THEN
… Instructions here …
IF Score > HighScore THEN
… Instructions here …
ENDIF
… Instructions here …
ENDIF
Use meaningful identifier names and know why it is Identifier names include names for variables, constants
important to use them. and subroutine names.

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3.2.3 Arithmetic operations in a programming language

Content Additional information
Be familiar with and be able to use: Integer division, including remainders is usually a two-
stage process and uses’ modular arithmetic:
• addition
eg the calculation 11/2 would generate the following
• subtraction values:
• multiplication Integer division: the integer quotient of 11 divided by 2:
(11 DIV 2) = 5
• real division
Remainder: the remainder when 11 is divided by 2: (11
• integer division, including remainders.
MOD 2) = 1

3.2.4 Relational operations in a programming language

Content Additional information
Be familiar with and be able to use: Students should be able to use these operators
within their own programs and be able to interpret
• equal to them when used within algorithms. Note that different
languages may use different symbols to represent
• not equal to
these operators.
• less than

• greater than

• less than or equal to

• greater than or equal to.

In assessment material we will use the following

symbols:
=, ≠, <, >, ≤, ≥

3.2.5 Boolean operations in a programming language

Content Additional information
Be familiar with and be able to use: Students should be able to use these operators, and
combinations of these operators, within conditions for
• NOT iterative and selection structures.
• AND

• OR.

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3.2.6 Data structures

Content Additional information
Understand the concept of data structures. It may be helpful to set the concept of a data structure
in various contexts that students may already be
familiar with. It may also be helpful to suggest/
demonstrate how data structures could be used in a
practical setting.
Use arrays (or equivalent) in the design of solutions to Only one and two dimensional arrays are required.
simple problems.
In Python, a list is a suitable alternative to an array for
this specification.
Use records (or equivalent) in the design of solutions to In C#, structs can be used to create records.
simple problems.
In Python, classes can be used in a non-object-
oriented way to create records. For example:

class Coordinate():
def __init__(self):
self.x = 0
self.y = 0

myposition = Coordinate()
myposition.x = 10
myposition.y = 5
In Visual Basic, structures can be used to create
records.

3.2.7 Input/output and file handling

Content Additional information
Be able to obtain user input from a keyboard.
Be able to output data and information from a program
to the computer display.
Be able to read/write from/to a text file.

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3.2.8 String handling operations in a programming language

Content Additional information
Understand and be able to use: Expected string conversion operations:

• length • string to integer

• position • string to real

• substring • integer to string

• concatenation • real to string.

• convert character to character code

• convert character code to character

• string conversion operations.

3.2.9 Random number generation in a programming language

Content Additional information
Be able to use random number generation. Students will be expected to use random number
generation within their computer programs. An
understanding of how pseudo-random numbers are
generated is not required.

3.2.10 Subroutines (procedures and functions)

Content Additional information
Understand the concept of subroutines. Know that a subroutine is a named ‘out of line’ block
of code that may be executed (called) by simply writing
its name in a program statement.
Explain the advantages of using subroutines in
programs.
Use and describe the use of parameters to pass data Students should be able to use subroutines that
within programs. require more than one parameter.

Students should be able to describe how data is

passed to a subroutine using parameters.
Use subroutines that return values to the calling Students should be able to describe how data is
routine. passed out of a subroutine using return values.

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3.2.11 Structured programming

Content Additional information
Describe the structured approach to programming. Students should be able to describe the structured
approach including modularised programming,
clear, well documented interfaces (local variables,
parameters) and return values.

Teachers should be aware that the terms ‘arguments’

and ‘parameters’ are sometimes used but in
examinable material we will use the term ‘parameter’ to
refer to both of these.
Explain the advantages of the structured approach.

3.2.12 Robust and secure programming

Content Additional information
Be able to write simple data validation routines. Students should be able to use data validation
techniques to write simple routines that check the
validity of data being entered by a user.

The following validation checks are examples of simple

data validation routines:

• checking if an entered string has a minimum length

• checking if a string is empty

• checking if numeric data entered lies within a given

range (eg between 1 and 10).
Be able to write simple authentication routines. Students should be able to write a simple
authentication routine that uses a username and
password. Students will be required to use only plain
text usernames and passwords (ie students will not
need to encrypt the passwords).
Be able to select suitable test data that covers normal
(typical), boundary and erroneous data.

Be able to justify the choice of test data.

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3.2.13 Classification of programming languages

Content Additional information
Know that there are different levels of programming Students should understand that most computer
language: programs are written in high-level language and
explain why this is the case.
• low-level language

• high-level language.

Explain the main differences between low-level and

high-level languages.
Know that machine code and assembly language are Understand that processors execute machine code
considered to be low-level languages and explain the and that each type of processor has its own specific
differences between them. machine code instruction set.

Understand that assembly language is often used

to develop software for embedded systems and for
controlling specific hardware components.

Understand that assembly language has a 1:1

correspondence with machine code.
Understand that ultimately all programming code
written in high-level or assembly languages must be
translated into machine code.

Understand that machine code is expressed in binary

and is specific to a processor or family of processors.
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of low-
level language programming compared with high-level
language programming.
Understand that there are three common types of
program translator:

• interpreter

• compiler

• assembler.

Explain the main differences between these three types

of translator.

Understand when it would be appropriate to use each

type of translator.

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3.3 Data representation

3.3.1 Number bases
Content Additional information
Understand the following number bases:

• decimal (base 10)

• binary (base 2)

• hexadecimal (base 16).

Understand that computers use binary to represent all Students should be familiar with the idea that a
data and instructions. bit pattern could represent different types of data
including text, image, sound and integer.
Explain why computers use binary to represent data
and instructions
Explain why hexadecimal is often used in computer
science.

3.3.2 Converting between number bases

Content Additional information
Understand how binary can be used to represent Students must be able to represent decimal values
whole numbers. between 0 and 255 in binary.
Understand how hexadecimal can be used to Students must be able to represent decimal values
represent whole numbers. between 0 and 255 in hexadecimal.
Be able to convert in both directions between: The following equivalent maximum values will be used:

• binary and decimal • decimal: 255

• binary and hexadecimal • binary: 1111 1111

• decimal and hexadecimal. • hexadecimal: FF

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3.3.3 Units of information

Content Additional information
Know that: A bit is either a 0 or a 1.

• a bit is the fundamental unit of information • b represents bit

• a byte is a group of 8 bits. • B represents byte

Know that quantities of bytes can be described using Students may benefit from knowing that historically the
prefixes. terms kilobyte, megabyte, etc have often been used to
represent powers of 2.
Know the names, symbols and corresponding values
for the decimal prefixes: In assessments we will use powers of 10 and the
references to powers of 2 will not be used.
• kilo, 1 kB is 1,000 bytes

• mega, 1 MB is 1,000 kilobytes

• giga, 1 GB is 1,000 megabytes

• tera, 1 TB is 1,000 gigabytes.

3.3.4 Binary arithmetic

Content Additional information
Be able to add together two binary numbers. Students will be expected to use a maximum of 8 bits.

Answers will be a maximum of 8 bits in length and will

not involve carrying beyond the eighth bit.
Be able to apply a binary shift to a binary number. Students will be expected to use a maximum of 8 bits.

Students will be expected to understand and use only

a logical binary shift.

Students will not need to understand or use fractional

representations.
Describe situations where binary shifts can be used. Binary shifts can be used to perform simple
multiplication/division by powers of 2.

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3.3.5 Character encoding

Content Additional information
Understand what a character set is and be able to Students should be able to use a given character
describe the following character encoding methods: encoding table to:

• 7-bit ASCII • convert characters to character codes

• Unicode. • convert character codes to characters.

Understand that character codes are commonly Students should know that character codes are
grouped and run in sequence within encoding tables. grouped and that they run in sequence. For example in
ASCII ‘A’ is coded as 65, ‘B’ as 66, and so on, meaning
that the codes for the other capital letters can be
calculated once the code for ‘A’ is known. This pattern
also applies to other groupings such as lower case
letters and digits.
Describe the purpose of Unicode and the advantages Students should be able to explain the need for data
of Unicode over ASCII. representation of different alphabets and of special
symbols allowing a far greater range of characters.
Know that Unicode uses the same codes as ASCII up
to 127. It is not necessary to be familiar with UTF-8, UTF-16 or
other different versions of Unicode.

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3.3.6 Representing images

Content Additional information
Understand what a pixel is and be able to describe Students should know that the term pixel is short for
how pixels relate to an image and the way images are Picture Element. A pixel is a single point in a graphical
displayed. image.

VDUs display pictures by dividing the display screen

into thousands (or millions) of pixels, arranged into
rows and columns.
Describe the following for bitmaps: The size of an image is expressed directly as width of
image in pixels by height of image in pixels using the
• size in pixels notation width x height.
• colour depth. Colour depth is the number of bits used to represent
each pixel.
Describe how a bitmap represents an image using Students should be able to explain how bitmaps are
pixels and colour depth. made from pixels.
Describe using examples how the number of pixels Students should be able to describe how higher
and colour depth can affect the file size of a bitmap numbers of pixels and higher colour depths can affect
image. file size and should also be able to use examples.
Calculate bitmap image file sizes based on the number Students only need to use colour depth and number of
of pixels and colour depth. pixels within their calculations.

Size bits = W x H x D

Size bytes = W x H x D /8

W = image width

H = image height

D = colour depth in bits.

Convert binary data into an image. Given a binary pattern that represents a bitmap,
students should be able to draw the resulting image as
a series of pixels.
Convert an image into binary data. Given a bitmap, students should be able to write down
a bit pattern that represents the image.

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3.3.7 Representing sound

Content Additional information
Understand that sound is analogue and that it must be
converted to a digital form for storage and processing
in a computer.
Understand that sound waves are sampled to create Understand that a sample is a measure of amplitude at
the digital version of sound. a point in time.
Describe the digital representation of sound in Sampling rate is the number of samples taken in a
terms of: second and is usually measured in hertz (1 Hertz = 1
sample per second).
• sampling rate
Sample resolution is the number of bits per sample.
• sample resolution.
Calculate sound file sizes based on the sampling rate File size (bits) = rate (Hz) x res x secs
and the sample resolution.
rate = sampling rate (hz)

res = sample resolution

secs = number of seconds.

3.3.8 Data compression

Content Additional information
Explain what data compression is. Students should understand that it is common for data
to be compressed and should be able to explain why it
Understand why data may be compressed and that may be necessary or desirable to compress data.
there are different ways to compress data.
Explain how data can be compressed using Huffman Students should be familiar with the process of using a
coding. tree to represent the Huffman code.

Be able to build a Huffman tree. Students should be able to build a Huffman tree for a
given string of data and show how the string would be
Be able to interpret a Huffman tree.
compressed using the tree.

Students should be able to interpret a given Huffman

tree to determine the code used for a particular node
within the tree.
Calculate the number of bits required to store a piece Students should be familiar with carrying out
of data compressed using Huffman coding. calculations to determine the number of bits saved by
compressing a piece of data using Huffman coding.
Calculate the number of bits required to store a piece
of uncompressed data in ASCII.
Explain how data can be compressed using run length Students should be familiar with the process of using
encoding (RLE). frequency/data pairs to reduce the amount of data
stored.
Represent data in RLE frequency/data pairs. Students could be given a bitmap representation and
they would be expected to show the frequency and
value pairs for each row,

eg 0000011100000011

would become 5 0 3 1 6 0 2 1.

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3.4 Computer systems

3.4.1 Hardware and software
Content Additional information
Define the terms hardware and software and
understand the relationship between them.

3.4.2 Boolean logic

Content Additional information
Construct truth tables for the following logic gates: Students do not need to know about or use NAND,
NOR and XOR logic gates.
• NOT

• AND

• OR.

NOT

AND

OR

Construct truth tables for simple logic circuits. Students should be able to construct truth tables
which contain up to three inputs and that use only
Interpret the results of simple truth tables. combinations of NOT, AND and OR gates.
Create, modify and interpret simple logic circuit Students should be able to construct simple logic
diagrams. circuit diagrams which contain up to three inputs.

Students will only need to use NOT, AND and OR gates

within logic circuits.

Students will be expected to understand and use the

logic circuit symbols shown above.
Be able to write a Boolean expression to represent a The following notation will be used for Boolean
logic circuit and to draw a logic circuit that implements expressions:
a Boolean expression.
• NOT:

• AND:

• OR:

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3.4.3 Software classification

Content Additional information
Explain what is meant by:

• system software

• application software.

Give examples of both types of software.

Understand the need for, and functions of, operating
systems (OS) and utility programs.

Understand that the OS handles management of the:

• processor(s)

• memory

• I/O devices

• applications

• security.

3.4.4 Systems architecture

Content Additional information
Explain the Von Neumann architecture.
Explain the role and operation of: A bus is a collection of wires through which data is
transmitted from one component to another.
• main memory
Main memory will be considered to be any form of
• the following major components of a central memory that is directly accessible by the CPU, except
processing unit (CPU): for cache and registers.
• arithmetic logic unit

• control unit

• clock

• buses.
Explain the effect of the following on the performance
of the CPU:

• clock speed

• number of processor cores

• cache size.

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Content Additional information

Understand and explain the Fetch-Execute cycle. The CPU continuously reads instructions stored in
main memory and executes them as required:

• fetch: the next instruction is fetched to the CPU

from main memory

• decode: the instruction is decoded to work out

what it is

• execute: the instruction is executed (carried out).

This may include reading/writing from/to main
memory.
Understand the differences between main memory and Secondary storage is considered to be any non-volatile
secondary storage. storage mechanism which is not directly accessible by
the CPU.
Understand the differences between RAM and ROM.

Be able to explain the terms volatile and non-volatile.

Understand why secondary storage is required.
Be aware of different types of secondary storage (solid Students should be aware that solid state devices
state, optical and magnetic). (SSDs) use electrical circuits to persistently store data
but will not need to know the precise details such as
Explain the operation of solid state, optical and use of NAND gates.
magnetic storage.
Students should be able to compare the advantages
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of solid and disadvantages of the secondary storage types
state, optical and magnetic storage. in comparison to each other and should be able to
assess their suitability for a given use/scenario.
Explain the term ‘cloud storage’. Students should understand that cloud storage uses
magnetic and increasingly solid state storage at a
remote location.
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of cloud
storage when compared to local storage.
Understand the term ‘embedded system’ and explain Students must be able to give examples of embedded
how an embedded system differs from a non- and non-embedded systems.
embedded system.

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3.5 Computer networks

Content Additional information
Define what a computer network is.

Discuss the benefits and risks of computer networks.

Describe the LAN and WAN types of computer LAN – know that these usually cover relatively small
network: geographical areas.

• Local Area Network (LAN) LAN – know that these are often owned and controlled/
managed by a single person or organisation.
• Wide Area Network (WAN).
WAN – know that the Internet is the biggest example of
a WAN.

WAN – know that these usually cover a wide

geographic area.

WAN – know that these are often under collective or

distributed ownership.
Understand that networks can be wired or wireless. Know that wired networks can use different types of
cable such as fibre and copper and when each would
Discuss the benefits and risks of wireless networks as be appropriate.
opposed to wired networks.
Explain the following physical network topologies: Students should be able to draw topology diagrams
and explain the differences between the two
• star topologies.
• bus.
Define the term ‘protocol’. A protocol is a set of rules that govern how data is
transmitted and received by devices.
Explain the purpose and use of common network Students should know what each protocol is used for
protocols including: (eg HTTPS provides an encrypted version of HTTP for
more secure web transactions).
• Ethernet
Students should understand that Ethernet is a family
• Wi-Fi of related protocols rather than a single protocol. They
do not need to know the individual protocols that make
• TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
up the Ethernet family. Students should understand
• UDP (User Datagram Protocol) that Wi-Fi is a family of related protocols rather than
a single protocol. They do not need to know the
• IP (Internet Protocol) individual protocols that make up the Wi-Fi family but
• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) they should know that Wi-Fi is a trademark and that
the generic term for networks of this nature is WLAN.
• HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

• email protocols:

• SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

• IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol).

Understand the need for, and importance of, network
security.

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Content Additional information

Explain the following methods of network security: Students should be able to explain, using examples,
what each of these security methods is and when each
• authentication could be used.
• encryption Students should understand how these methods can
work together to provide a greater level of security.
• firewall
Students should understand that MAC address
• MAC address filtering.
filtering allows devices to access, or be blocked from
accessing a network based on their physical address
embedded within the device’s network adapter.
Describe the 4 layer TCP/IP model: Students should be able to name the layers and
describe their main function(s) in a networking
• application layer environment.
• transport layer Application layer: this is where the network
applications, such as web browsers or email programs,
• network layer
operate.
• link layer.
Transport layer: this layer sets up the communication
Understand that the HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, IMAP and between the two hosts and they agree settings such as
FTP protocols operate at the application layer. ‘language’ and size of packets.

Understand that the TCP and UDP protocols operate Network layer: addresses and packages data for
at the transport layer. transmission. Routes the packets across the network.

Understand that the IP protocol operates at the Link layer: this is where the network hardware such as
network layer. the NIC (network interface card) is located. OS device
drivers also sit here.

Teachers should be aware that the network layer is

sometimes referred to as the internet layer and that
the link layer is sometimes referred to as the network
interface layer. However, students will not be expected
to know these alternative layer names.

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3.6 Cyber security

Content Additional information
Define the term cyber security and be able to describe Students should know that cyber security consists of
the main purposes of cyber security. the processes, practices and technologies designed to
protect networks, computers, programs and data from
attack, damage or unauthorised access.

3.6.1 Cyber security threats

Content Additional information
Understand and be able to explain the following cyber
security threats:

• social engineering techniques

• malicious code

• weak and default passwords

• misconfigured access rights

• removable media

• unpatched and/or outdated software.

Explain what penetration testing is and what it is used Penetration testing is the process of attempting to gain
for. access to resources without knowledge of usernames,
passwords and other normal means of access.

Students should understand that the aim of a white-

box penetration test is to simulate a malicious insider
who has knowledge of and possibly basic credentials
for the target system.

Students should understand that the aim of a black-

box penetration test is to simulate an external hacking
or cyber warfare attack.

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3.6.1.1 Social engineering

Content Additional information
Define the term social engineering. Students should know that social engineering is the
art of manipulating people so they give up confidential
Describe what social engineering is and how it can be information.
protected against.
Blagging is the act of creating and using an invented
Explain the following forms of social engineering: scenario to engage a targeted victim in a manner that
increases the chance the victim will divulge information
• blagging (pretexting)
or perform actions that would be unlikely in ordinary
• phishing circumstances.

• pharming Phishing is a technique of fraudulently obtaining

private information, often using email or SMS.
• shouldering (or shoulder surfing).
Pharming is a cyberattack intended to redirect a
website’s traffic to another, fake site.

Shouldering is observing a person’s private information

over their shoulder eg cashpoint machine PIN
numbers.

3.6.1.2 Malicious code

Content Additional information
Define the term ‘malware’. Malware is an umbrella term used to refer to a variety
of forms of hostile or intrusive software.
Describe what malware is and how it can be protected
against.

Describe the following forms of malware:

• computer virus

• trojan

• spyware

• adware.

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3.6.2 Methods to detect and prevent cyber security threats

Content Additional information
Understand and be able to explain the following
security measures:

• biometric measures (particularly for mobile devices)

• password systems

• CAPTCHA (or similar)

• using email confirmations to confirm a user’s

identity

• automatic software updates.

3.7 Relational databases and structured query language

(SQL)
3.7.1 Relational databases
Content Additional information
Explain the concept of a database.
Explain the concept of a relational database.
Understand the following important database Note that whilst the terms entity, attribute and entity
concepts. identifier are more commonly used when an abstract
model of a database is being considered, the terms
• table given here will be used for both implementations of
and abstract models of databases.
• record

• field

• primary key

• foreign key.

Understand that the use of a relational database

facilitates the elimination of data inconsistency and
data redundancy.

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3.7.2 Database design

Content Additional information
Be able to choose appropriate data types and (where
appropriate) lengths for fields in a table.
Be able to select a suitable primary key for a table.
Be able to produce a design for a relational database Scenarios used in examinations will require the use of
from a description of a scenario. no more than three tables.

Table designs will be written in the form

TableName (Field1, Field2, Field3, ….) with underlining
used to indicate the primary key.

3.7.3 Structured Query Language (SQL)

Content Additional information
Be able to use SQL to retrieve data from a relational Exam questions will require that data is extracted from
database, using the commands: no more than two tables for any one query.

• SELECT

• FROM

• WHERE.
Be able to use SQL to insert data into a relational Only the form of the INSERT INTO command that
database using INSERT INTO. specifies all of the values in a record is required.

Be able to use the SQL commands UPDATE and

DELETE FROM to edit and delete data in a database.

3.8 Web page design

3.8.1 Key concepts
Content Additional information
Know that web pages can be constructed using HTML
and CSS.
Know that HTML is used to create the structure of a
web page and that CSS can be used to change the
style of the page.

Understand that server-side scripting languages can

be used on a web server for dynamic generation of
web pages.

Understand that client-side scripting languages can be

used to add additional functionality to web pages.

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3.8.2 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Content Additional information
Be able to create the structure of a web page using Students will be expected to be able to use the
HTML. following HTML tags:

General: <html> </html>, <title> </title>, <body> </

body>, <style> </style>

Block-level: <div> </div>, <p> </p>, <h#> </h#>, <ol>

</ol>, <ul> </ul>, <li> </li>

Inline: <span> </span>, <strong> </strong>, <em> </

em>, <br />, <a> </a>, <img />
Be able to use basic CSS to control the layout of a A style rule is made up of three parts, a selector, a
web page. property and a value: selector {property : value }

Two kinds of selector need to be known: type, class.

The following properties should be known:

background-color, color, text-align, font-family, font-
size, font-weight, font-style.

Exam questions will only use embedded style sheets,

but students may wish to use external style sheets
when completing practical work.
Be aware of the key differences between HTML5 and Students should know that HTML5:
earlier versions of HTML.
• Supports many facilities that were previously only
available by using add-ons to HTML.

• Improved provision for the development of web

applications through support for scripting and
access to many new APIs.

• Ability to more easily incorporate graphics and

multimedia elements, for example using the <svg>,
<canvas>, <audio> and <video> tags.

• Use of new semantic elements such as <header>

and <article> to define different parts of a web
page.

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4 Scheme of assessment
You can find mark schemes, and specimen papers for new courses, on our website at oxfordaqa.com/9210

This is a linear qualification. In order to achieve the award, students must complete all assessments at the end of
the course and in the same series.

Our International GCSE exams and certification for this specification are available for the first time in May/June
2019 and then every May/June and November for the life of the specification.

All materials are available in English only.

Our International GCSE Computer Science includes questions that allow students to demonstrate their ability to:

• recall information

• apply their knowledge and understanding

• write, test and explain program code.

4.1 Aims and learning outcomes

Our International GCSE Computer Science encourages students to be inspired, motivated and challenged by
following a broad, coherent, practical, satisfying and worthwhile course of study. It should encourage students to
develop their curiosity about the living world, enable students to engage with computer science in their everyday
lives in order to make informed choices about further study in computer science and related disciplines.

Our International GCSE Computer Science should enable students to:

• analyse problems in computational terms

• design and write computer programs to solve problems

• test and debug programs

• build simple web pages and work with relational databases

• demonstrate and apply knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and principles of computer science

• progress to employment or further courses of study.

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4.2 Assessment Objectives

The assessments will measure how students have achieved the following Assessment Objectives:

• AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and principles of computer science.

• AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding of key concepts and principles of computer science.

• AO3: Analyse problems in computational terms in order to develop and test programmed solutions and
demonstrate an understanding of programming concepts.

4.2.1 Assessment Objective weightings

Assessment Objectives (AOs) Component weightings (approx %) Overall weighting
Paper 1 Paper 2 of AOs (approx %)
AO1 0 20 – 25 20 – 25
AO2 0–5 20 – 25 20 – 30
AO3 45 – 50 0–5 45 – 55
Overall weighting of units (%) 50 50 100

4.3 Assessment weightings

Component Maximum raw Scaling factor Maximum scaled
mark mark
Paper 1 80 1 80
Paper 2 80 1 80
Total scaled mark: 160

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5 General administration
We are committed to delivering assessments of the highest quality and have developed practices and procedures
that support this aim. To ensure that all students have a fair experience, we have worked with other awarding
bodies in England to develop best practice for maintaining the integrity of assessments. This is published
through the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). We will maintain the same high standard through their use for
OxfordAQA.

More information on all aspects of administration is available at oxfordaqa.com/exams-administration

For any immediate enquiries please contact [email protected]

Please note: We aim to respond to all email enquiries within two working days.

Our UK office hours are Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm local time.

5.1 Entries and codes

You need to make only one entry for each qualification – this will cover all the question papers and certification.

Qualification title OxfordAQA entry code

OxfordAQA International GCSE Computer Science 9210

Please check the current version of the Entry Codes book and the latest information about making entries on
oxfordaqa.com/exams-administration

Exams will be available May/June and in November.

5.2 Overlaps with other qualifications

This specification overlaps with the AQA UK GCSE in Computer Science (8520).

5.3 Awarding grades and reporting results

In line with English GCSEs, this qualification will be graded on a nine-point scale: 1 to 9 – where 9 is the best
grade. Students who fail to reach the minimum standard for grade 1 will be recorded as U (unclassified) and will
not receive a qualification certificate.

To find out more about the new grading system, visit our website at oxfordaqa.com

5.4 Resits
Candidates can retake the whole qualification as many times as they wish. This is a traditional linear specification;
individual components cannot be resat.

5.5 Previous learning and prerequisites

There are no previous learning requirements. Any requirements for entry to a course based on this specification
are at the discretion of schools.

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5.6 Access to assessment: equality and inclusion

Our general qualifications are designed to prepare students for a wide range of occupations and further study
whilst assessing a wide range of competences.

The subject criteria have been assessed to ensure they test specific competences. The skills or knowledge
required do not disadvantage particular groups of students.

Exam access arrangements are available for students with disabilities and special educational needs.

We comply with the UK Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to remove or lessen any disadvantage
that affects a disabled student. Information about access arrangements will be issued to schools when they
become OxfordAQA centres.

5.7 Working with OxfordAQA for the first time?

You will need to apply to become an OxfordAQA centre to offer our specifications to your students. Find out how
at oxfordaqa.com/centreapprovals

5.8 Private candidates

Centres may accept private candidates for examined units/components only with the prior agreement of
OxfordAQA. If you are an approved OxfordAQA centre and wish to accept private candidates, please contact
OxfordAQA at: [email protected]

Centres accepting private candidates must provide access to the paper 1 pre-release material when it is released

Private candidates may also enter for examined only units/components via the British Council; please contact
your local British Council office for details.

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Fairness first
Thank you for choosing OxfordAQA,
the international exam board that puts
fairness first.

Benchmarked to UK standards, our

exams only ever test subject ability, not
language skills or cultural knowledge.

This gives every student the best

possible chance to show what they can
do and get the results they deserve.

Get in touch
You can contact us at oxfordaqa.com/contact-us
or email [email protected]

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