National Curriculum

Key Stage 3 Computing

Years 7, 8 and 9 in the order they are taught. Computer science, information technology and digital literacy, explained properly so that starting GCSE feels like carrying on rather than starting again.

Start the first topic Practice papers Printable worksheets

17Topics

170Quiz questions

295Exam marks

Top bandTarget grade

Your route to Top band

Revision works when it has an order. Follow these stages rather than opening topics at random.

Understand it, do not just do it

It is possible to finish every task in a lesson without understanding any of it. Read the explanation on each topic and check you could explain it to somebody else.

Get full marks on the knowledge checks

Ten questions per unit. If you get eight, go back to the two sections you missed. Nobody ever improved by moving on from the bits they found hard.

Write the longer answers out

Five written questions per unit, marked against a real mark scheme. Writing an answer is a completely different skill from recognising one, and it is the one that gets tested.

Build the habit early

Twenty minutes a week from Year 7 puts you two years ahead by GCSE. Nobody who gets a grade 9 started revising in Year 11.

Keep coding outside lessons

One small Python project a term will do more for you than any amount of note reading. Build something you actually want to exist.

Year 7 5 topics

Year 7

Your first year of computing: using computers properly, your first programs in Scratch and Python, what is inside the machine, and vector graphics.

Y7.1Using ComputersHardware and software, input and output, file management and staying safe and organised on a school network.Y7.2Programming Essentials in ScratchSequence, selection and iteration using blocks, plus variables and events. Everything you learn here transfers directly to Python.Y7.3Introduction to PythonYour first real code. Printing, variables, input, data types and simple if statements, with every common beginner error explained.Y7.4Understanding ComputersWhat is inside the box, how binary works, and why every computer is really just a very fast machine for moving 1s and 0s around.Y7.5Vector GraphicsWhy a logo stays sharp at any size while a photograph turns blocky, and the tools you need to design your own vector artwork.

Year 8 6 topics

Year 8

Staying safe online, thinking like a computer scientist, real Python programs, spreadsheets, networks and building web pages.

Y8.1Digital Literacy and Online SafetyYour digital footprint, spotting scams and fake news, protecting your accounts, and what to do when something online goes wrong.Y8.2Computational ThinkingThe four techniques that let you solve problems the way a computer scientist does, plus flowcharts and pseudocode for planning before you code.Y8.3Python: Loops, Lists and FunctionsMoving beyond the basics into for loops, while loops, lists, functions and simple validation. This is the point where you can start writing real programs.Y8.4Spreadsheets and Data ModellingFormulas, functions, absolute and relative references, conditional logic and charts. Spreadsheets are the most widely used programming tool on Earth.Y8.5Networks and Cyber SecurityHow computers talk to each other, what happens when you type a web address, and the attacks and defences you need to understand.Y8.6Web DevelopmentHTML for structure and CSS for style, how a browser turns your code into a page, and how to build a site that works for everyone.

Year 9 6 topics

Year 9

The bridge into GCSE: the law, data representation in full, structured Python, app development, artificial intelligence and 3D animation.

Y9.1Digital Literacy and the LawThe four laws that govern computing, how your data is collected and used, and the ethical questions technology forces on all of us.Y9.2Data RepresentationBinary, hexadecimal, binary addition, and exactly how text, images and sound become numbers. This is the foundation of the whole GCSE course.Y9.3Python ProgrammingSubroutines, 2D lists, file handling, dictionaries and structured programs. Everything you need so that GCSE programming feels like continuing rather than starting.Y9.4App DevelopmentHow an app is designed before it is built: user interface, wireframes, the development cycle, and testing with real people.Y9.5Artificial Intelligence and the Impact of ComputingWhat machine learning actually is, why AI systems become biased, and how to think clearly about technology that is changing faster than the rules around it.Y9.63D Modelling and AnimationHow 3D objects are built from vertices, edges and faces, how animation works with keyframes, and what actually happens when a scene is rendered.