Pearson Edexcel 1CP2

Edexcel GCSE Computer Science

All six topics of the Pearson Edexcel 1CP2 specification, written to Edexcel's own conventions: Edexcel pseudocode, binary storage prefixes, and Paper 2 taught in the Python you will actually sit it in.

Start the first topic Practice papers Printable worksheets

15Topics

150Quiz questions

229Exam marks

Grade 9Target grade

Your route to Grade 9

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

Know what the two papers ask of you

Paper 1, Principles of Computer Science, is 1 hour 30 minutes of written questions on Topics 1 to 5. Paper 2, Application of Computational Thinking, is 2 hours sat at a computer writing and fixing Python. They need different preparation and most students only prepare for the first.

Use Edexcel's own conventions

Edexcel pseudocode uses SET, SEND TO DISPLAY and RECEIVE FROM KEYBOARD, and Edexcel counts storage in kibibytes of 1024 bytes. Working from another board's material will cost you marks on questions you actually knew.

Read a topic once, then close it and write

What you can produce from memory is what you have learned. What you can only recognise on the page is not, and rereading will never show you which is which.

Score full marks on every knowledge check

Ten questions per topic with an explanation for every answer. Below ten out of ten means go back to that section rather than moving on.

Type the Python, do not read it

Paper 2 is marked on a program that runs. Every Python example on this site can be run and edited in the browser, and every hour spent typing is worth several spent reading.

Sit whole papers to time, then fix what you dropped

Mark honestly against the mark scheme, write down every mark you lost and the reason, and revise from that list. Your mistakes are your revision plan.

Paper 1 4 topics

Topic 1: Computational Thinking

Decomposition and abstraction, algorithms in flowcharts and pseudocode, searching and sorting, and truth tables.

1.1Decomposition and AbstractionThe two thinking skills the whole course rests on, what each one actually does to a problem, and how to write about them in a way that scores.1.2Algorithms, Flowcharts and PseudocodeReading and writing algorithms in the two forms Edexcel uses, the exact pseudocode command set the papers are written in, and how to trace a program without guessing.1.2Searching and Sorting AlgorithmsLinear search, binary search, bubble sort and merge sort: how each one moves through the data, how to trace it, and how to justify choosing one over another.1.3Truth Tables and LogicNOT, AND and OR, how to build a truth table for a combined expression without losing a row, and how the same logic turns up inside program conditions.

Paper 1 3 topics

Topic 2: Data

Binary and hexadecimal, representing text, images and sound, and storage units and compression using Edexcel's binary prefixes.

2.1Binary and HexadecimalWhy a computer has only two digits to work with, how to convert in both directions without a calculator, and what hexadecimal is actually for.2.2Representing Text, Images and SoundCharacter sets, bitmap images and sampled sound, and every calculation Edexcel can ask you to do on each, with the conversions set out step by step.2.3Data Storage and CompressionEdexcel's binary storage units, the three types of secondary storage and how to choose between them, and lossy against lossless compression with the reasoning that earns the marks.

Paper 1 2 topics

Topic 3: Computers

The components of a computer system, the processor and the fetch decode execute cycle, software, and programming languages and translators.

3.1Hardware and the ProcessorThe components of a computer system, the von Neumann architecture, the fetch decode execute cycle, and what actually makes one processor faster than another.3.2 to 3.3Software and Programming LanguagesSystem software against application software, the four jobs of an operating system, utilities, and how high and low level languages are translated into something a processor can run.

Paper 1 1 topics

Topic 4: Networks

Local and wide area networks, topologies, protocols and layers, and every network threat and defence in the specification.

4.1 to 4.2Networks and Network SecurityLocal and wide area networks, topologies, wired against wireless, protocols and layers, and every threat and defence Edexcel expects you to name.

Paper 1 2 topics

Topic 5: Issues and Impact

Environmental, ethical, cultural and privacy impacts, emerging technologies, and the legislation you must be able to apply.

5.1Issues and Impact of TechnologyEnvironmental, ethical, cultural and privacy impacts of computing, emerging technologies, and a structure for the extended answer that carries the largest marks on Paper 1.5.2Legislation and PrivacyThe Acts you must be able to name and apply, what each one actually makes unlawful, and the difference between open source and proprietary software licensing.

Paper 2 3 topics

Topic 6: Problem Solving with Programming

The on screen paper. Python from variables and constructs through lists, strings and files to subprograms, validation and testing.

6.2Programming Fundamentals in PythonEverything Paper 2 assumes you can do without thinking: variables and types, every operator, the three constructs, and reading input safely. Every example here runs in the browser.6.2Lists, Strings and Files in PythonOne dimensional and two dimensional lists, every string operation Paper 2 expects, and reading and writing text files, with the off by one traps that break more programs than anything else.6.1Developing and Testing ProgramsSubprograms, readable and maintainable code, validation and authentication, the three kinds of error, and how to build a test plan that finds faults before an examiner does.