Most IGCSE subjects studied include two lessons each week and result in a single qualification. This option gives students the opportunity to gain both IGCSE Computer Science and IGCSE Information and Communication Technology (ICT) from three lessons a week.
As Computer Science focuses on how computers work and ICT looks at how we use computers, a strong understanding of each subject helps improve the student’s understanding of the other.
Split of content areas between the two subjects
Most of the content areas in the syllabuses for the two subjects are common between the two subjects, but one subject merely introduces it while the other subject covers it in depth. This helps students to better understand content that might only be superficially covered in the single subjects.
These broad content areas are introduced in one subject and covered in depth in the other:
- Hardware, software and computer systems (in depth in Computer Science, introduced in ICT)
- The internet, networking and ethics (in depth in ICT, introduced in Computer Science)
The two subjects diverge on the following focused content areas:
- Problem-solving and Programming (Computer Science only)
- Data representation (binary, encoding and cryptography) (Computer Science only)
- Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and databases (ICT only)
- Image manipulation and website authoring (ICT only)
- The systems lifecycle (analysis, design, creation and documentation) (ICT only)
In Year 10, content will be clearly identified as to which subject (or subjects) it belongs but the three lessons will not be split for the specific subjects. In Year 11, our students study the practical sides of these subjects with one lesson being specifically for Computer Science and two lessons for ICT. This will allow students the opportunity to continue with both programmes of study or to drop either Computer Science or ICT in Year 11 to focus on the other, or to use the time to catch up with other IGCSE subjects.