Data representation - Understand how and why computers use binary to represent all forms of data

Data representation - Understand the denary, binary and hexadecimal number systems

Data representation - Convert between positive denary and positive binary

Data representation - Convert between positive denary and positive hexadecimal

Data representation - Convert between positive hexadecimal and positive binary

Data representation - Understand how and why hexadecimal is used as a beneficial method of data representation

Data representation - Add two positive 8-bit binary integers

Data representation - Understand the concept of overflow and why it occurs in binary addition

Data representation - Perform a logical binary shift on a positive 8-bit binary integer and understand the effect

Data representation - Use the two’s complement number system to represent positive and negative 8-bit binary integers

Text, sound and images - Understand how and why a computer represents text and the use of character sets, including ASCII and Unicode

Text, sound and images - Understand how and why a computer represents sound, including the effects of the sample rate and sample resolution

Text, sound and images - Understand how and why a computer represents an image, including the effects of the resolution and colour depth

Data storage and compression - Understand how data storage is measured

Data storage and compression - Calculate the file size of an image file and a sound file, using information given

Data storage and compression - Understand the purpose of and need for data compression

Data storage and compression - Understand how files are compressed using lossy and lossless compression methods

Software - Describe the difference between system software and application software and provide examples of each

Software - Describe the role and basic functions of an operating system

Software - Understand how hardware, firmware and an operating system are required to run applications software

Software - Describe the role and operation of interrupts

The internet and its uses - Understand the difference between the internet and the world wide web

The internet and its uses - Understand what is meant by a uniform resource locator (URL)

The internet and its uses - Describe the purpose and operation of HTTP and HTTPS

The internet and its uses - Explain the purpose and functions of a web browser

The internet and its uses - Describe how web pages are located, retrieved and displayed on a device when a user enters a URL

The internet and its uses - Explain what is meant by cookies and how they are used

Automated and emerging technologies - Describe how sensors, microprocessors and actuators can be used in collaboration to create automated systems

Automated and emerging technologies - Describe the advantages and disadvantages of an automated system used for a given scenario

Automated and emerging technologies - Understand what is meant by robotics

Automated and emerging technologies - Describe the characteristics of a robot

Automated and emerging technologies - Understand the roles that robots can perform and describe the advantages and disadvantages of their use

Automated and emerging technologies - Understand what is meant by artificial intelligence (AI)

Automated and emerging technologies - Describe the main characteristics of AI

Automated and emerging technologies - Explain the basic operation and components of AI systems

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Understand the program development life cycle

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Understand system decomposition

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Use different methods to design and construct a solution to a problem

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Explain the purpose of a given algorithm

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Understand standard methods of solution

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Understand the need for validation and verification checks

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Suggest and apply suitable test data

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Complete a trace table to document a dry-run of an algorithm

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Identify errors in given algorithms and suggest ways of correcting them

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Write and amend algorithms using pseudocode, program code and flowcharts

Programming - Declare and use variables and constants

Programming - Understand and use basic data types

Programming - Understand and use input and output

Programming - Understand and use sequence, selection, and iteration

Programming - Understand and use arithmetic, logical and Boolean operators

Programming - Understand and use nested statements

Programming - Define and use procedures and functions, with or without parameters

Programming - Understand and use local and global variables

Programming - Understand and use library routines

Programming - Understand how to create a maintainable program

Programming - Declare and use one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays

Programming - Understand the use of arrays

Programming - Write values into, and read values from, an array using iteration

Programming - Understand the purpose of storing data in a file

Programming - Open, close and use a file for reading and writing

Databases - Define a single-table database from given requirements

Databases - Suggest suitable basic data types

Databases - Understand the purpose of a primary key and identify one

Databases - Read, understand and complete SQL scripts to query data

Boolean logic - Identify and use the standard symbols for logic gates

Boolean logic - Define and understand the functions of logic gates

Boolean logic - Use logic gates to create logic circuits from a problem statement, logic expression or truth table

Boolean logic - Complete a truth table from a problem statement, logic expression or logic circuit

Boolean logic - Write a logic expression from a problem statement, logic circuit or truth table

Types and methods of data transmission - Understand that data is broken down into packets to be transmitted

Types and methods of data transmission - Describe the structure of a packet

Types and methods of data transmission - Describe the process of packet switching

Types and methods of data transmission - Describe methods of data transmission

Types and methods of data transmission - Explain the suitability of each method for a scenario

Types and methods of data transmission - Understand the USB interface and how it is used to transmit data

Methods of error detection - Understand the need to check for errors after data transmission

Methods of error detection - Describe parity check (odd and even), checksum and echo check

Methods of error detection - Describe how a check digit is used and identify examples such as ISBN and bar codes

Methods of error detection - Describe how ARQ is used to confirm data was received correctly

Encryption - Understand the need for and purpose of encryption when transmitting data

Encryption - Understand symmetric and asymmetric encryption methods

Computer architecture - Understand the role of the CPU and the meaning of microprocessor

Computer architecture - Understand the purpose of components in Von Neumann architecture

Computer architecture - Describe the fetch–decode–execute cycle

Computer architecture - Understand cores, cache and clock in a CPU

Computer architecture - Understand the instruction set

Computer architecture - Describe embedded systems and provide examples

Input and output devices - Understand input devices and their purposes

Input and output devices - Understand output devices and their purposes

Input and output devices - Understand sensors, data they capture and their appropriate use

Data storage - Understand primary storage

Data storage - Understand secondary storage

Data storage - Describe the operation of magnetic, optical and solid-state storage with examples

Data storage - Understand virtual memory and its role

Data storage - Understand cloud storage

Data storage - Explain advantages and disadvantages of cloud storage compared to local storage

Network hardware - Understand the need for NICs and MAC addresses

Network hardware - Understand IP addresses and differentiate between types

Network hardware - Describe the role of a router in a network

Types of programming languages - Explain high-level vs low-level languages, advantages and disadvantages

Types of programming languages - Understand that assembly language uses mnemonics and requires an assembler

Types of programming languages - Describe compilers and interpreters and how they operate

Types of programming languages - Explain advantages and disadvantages of compilers and interpreters

Types of programming languages - Explain the role of IDEs and their common functions

Databases - Identify fields and records in a single-table database

Databases - Apply validation to fields in a database

Databases - Understand and identify suitable primary keys

Databases - Understand and write basic SQL queries including SELECT, WHERE, AND, OR, ORDER BY

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Understand system decomposition and sub-systems

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Use flowcharts, structure diagrams and pseudocode to construct a solution

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Write algorithms using pseudocode or flowcharts

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Test algorithms using trace tables and test data

Algorithm design and problem-solving - Understand and apply standard search and sort algorithms (e.g. linear search, bubble sort)

Programming concepts - Understand and use nested selection and iteration statements

Programming concepts - Define and use procedures and functions with or without parameters

Programming concepts - Understand local and global variable scope

Programming concepts - Understand how to create maintainable programs using comments and naming conventions

Arrays - Use arrays to store multiple values of the same data type

Arrays - Use loops to process arrays

File handling - Open, read, write and close files

File handling - Understand why data is stored in external files and how programs can access them

Boolean logic - Identify and use standard logic gate symbols: AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR

Boolean logic - Draw logic circuits based on problem statements, logic expressions or truth tables

Boolean logic - Write logic expressions from circuits or truth tables

Boolean logic - Create and complete truth tables from logic expressions or circuits