Ada Computer Science
Ada is a free online Computer Science platform for teachers and students.
Through Ada you can access Computer Science resources for GCSE and A-Level including interactive coding questions for Python, C#, VB and Java.
Welcome to the CAS A-Level Community
Welcome to our thematic community webpage, your go-to hub for helpful blogs, resources, and extra materials that match our community's interests.
Join the forum
To share a message with the community, please use the Community Notice Board on the main community page.
To discuss A -Level based topics with other teachers, ask a question and explore topics raised within the community by other members, visit our dedicated forum
Attend our Events
You can view and book onto our upcoming events on the main community page.
You can access recordings, slides and summary blog posts for previous events run through this community at the bottom of this page.
Resources
Please use the links below to access A-Level resources, developed by teachers for teachers.
You can add your own resources too!
Talk to our friends...
Here is a selection of trusted organisations who will also support you in teaching computing at key stage 5:
Video content and slide narration for theoretical topics in A Level Computer Science
Create collections of past exam questions and answers from selected topics
Interactive resoruces for Python including data structures
Interactive Python programming exercises with progress view for teachers
Visualisations of data structures and algorithms
Past events
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Teaching Tomorrow’s Technology: Ethics
As technology permeates every aspect of our lives, understanding the ethical implications of computing has never been more crucial, especially for those teaching it to tomorrows developers and users. session, designed for UK GCSE and A-Level computing teachers, explores key ethical challenges in today’s digital landscape. Topics include AI bias and its impact on decision-making, the environmental footprint of inefficient code, and the ethical considerations surrounding self-driving cars. We will also delve into the controversial use of image scanners in law enforcement, examining cases of racial bias, and reflect on scandals like Horizon, exploring the lessons they offer for teaching responsible computing.
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Supporting Students with Essay style questions for OCR
During this session we will explore the essay style questions in the OCR exam papers and look at strategies to support students to excel in them. We’ll look at past paper questions and discuss the answers in the examiners’ report. We'll be joined by Craig and Dave from Craig n Dave and they'll be talking about their free resource to support with this and other techniques they'd recommend.
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Inspiring Computing Students Beyond the Classroom
This session we'll be joined by the Access and Learning Team from the RAF Museum in the Midlands for an introduction and special educational offers from the Access and Learning Team at RAF Museum Midlands, including free events, residentials and work experience opportunities for key stages 3-5.
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NEA Preparation with Inversity’s Free A-Level Resources
In this session Laura Nevin (HoD of Computing and IT at Worcester Sixth Form College*) will show you how you can transform your NEA preparation and reduce your workload through Inversity’s new free trial. This session is designed for A-Level Computer Science teachers seeking to equip students with real-world industry skills while easing the workload of NEA preparation. The Government Digital Services Challenge, accessible through Inversity with accompanying lesson resources**, offers an exciting way to immerse students in practical problem-solving and prototyping, helping them develop key skills relevant to their NEA and future careers, and add something unique to their CV. Furthermore we’ll introduce the free module of Inversity's Hands-On AI Masterclass, which teaches prompt engineering, a valuable skill for both students and staff, and explore free lesson resources on Market Research and Problem Curation to guide students through key project phases. To top it all off, we’ll showcase how Inversity's AI-assisted marking provides detailed feedback on student submissions, significantly reducing teacher workload while supporting student progress.
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Elan – First Language for British Schools Since 1981
Elan was formally announced at the CAS Conference in July 2024, is currently available as a Beta, and will be ready for teaching from May 2025. Elan is free, and runs in a browser (no installation involved) and you may access it over the Internet, or install it on your school server, or run it locally as a web-page on a from your desktop with no network access.
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Careers in Tech, Digital & Data
Getting into tech doesn’t have to mean learning how to code. In this session, we will explore the wide range of tech, digital and data roles, and explore key skills for tech careers, including creativity, curiosity, collaboration and problem-solving. 90% of the tech workforce does not have a computer science or IT-related degree, so what are the other routes into tech? We will look at trends in tech, and how these will influence jobs of the future.
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Cisco NetAcad - it isn't just Networking
Andrew Smith & Elizabeth Barr , The Open University & CISCO
Explore with the Open University and Cisco, how NetAcad can be used for free! This session is for secondary and FE, and will cover how you can use Cyber, Networking, Coding, Operating Systems and basic skills at no cost, with your students!
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Intro to OOP … Or …. Why Everything is an Object
Dave Hartley
Object Oriented Programming (or OOP) is the most commonly used paradigm in the software industry. Games, Finance, Engineering, Cybersecurity and more take this approach. Why? In this session, you will Find out Why OOP is central to the software we build today. Learn about the foundation concepts of encapsulation, inheritance, classes, methods, and properties. Have a go at designing objects to solve a problem and maybe even get to some coding. The goal of this session is to demystify the topic, sell you on why it's cool, and give you resources to help you teach it.
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How AI changes the skills needed for software engineering and data science
Dr James Kuht MBE , Inversity
How AI changed the skills I hired for in Software Engineers and Data Scientists... and what this means for A-level CompSci students skills. Reflections of a former CTO AI changed the game in my last job - and it also changed the skills I valued most in the software developers and data scientists I hired. In this talk, I’ll share insights from my role as CTO of a large Specialist Military Unit, including case studies of where AI was useful and useless(!) and how it changed the role of our software developers and data scientists. My hope is that it empowers Computer Science, Digital T-level and other STEM educators with some insights as to how AI might be changing the skills required of their students by employers now and in the future.