AQA A level Computer Science
£32.50£36.10 (-10%)
Exam Board: AQA
Level: AS/A-level
Subject: Computer Science
First Teaching: September 2015
First Exam: June 2016
This title has been approved by AQA for use with the AS and A-level AQA Computer Science specifications.
AQA A-level Computer Science gives students the chance to think creatively and progress through the AQA AS and A-level Computer Science specifications. Detailed coverage of the specifications will enrich understanding of the fundamental principles of computing, whilst a range of activities help to develop the programming skills and computational thinking skills at A-level and beyond.
– Enables students to build a thorough understanding of the fundamental principles in the AQA AS and A-Level Computer Science specifications, with detailed coverage of programming, algorithms, data structures and representation, systems, databases and networks, uses and consequences.
– Helps to tackle the various demands of the course confidently, with advice and support for programming and theoretical assessments and the problem-solving or investigative project at A-level.
– Develops the programming and computational thinking skills for A-level and beyond – frequent coding and question practice will help students apply their knowledge of the principles of computer science, and design, program and evaluate problem-solving computer systems.
Bob Reeves is an experienced teacher with examining experience, and well-respected author of resources for Computing and ICT across the curriculum.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Hodder Education, UK ed. edition (26 Jun. 2015) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 448 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1471839516 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1471839511 |
| Reading age | 16 years and up |
| Dimensions | 21.2 x 2.2 x 27.4 cm |
by Dominic G. Connor
I bought this book because I learned from teachers of their problems using this piece of trash and didn’t believe that anyone would release a book that bad. I was wrong.
It’s a disaster, clearly written in a hurry by someone whose grasp of CS is narrower than the rnage he attempts to cover.
Bob Reeves was let down by Hodder who couldn’t be bothered to support him with appropriate sub editors of getting it checked properly.
Confusing with numerous errors, some of the writing is so bad that I cannot work out whether it is wrong or so badly expressed that I can’t tell.
Hodder and Bob Reeves should be ashamed of this book.
A teenager uses a text like this for exams that will determine the course of their lives, misinforming someone who doesn’t know better is inexcusable.
Hodder has released a iist of errata, this is not widely publicised, which matters less because it is woefully incomplete and not easy to get.
I’m a CompSci grad, professional tech journalist and native English speaker, so when I say “I can’t understand this garbage” it is not because the content is beyond me.
The explanation of recursion is quite possibly the worst piece of tech writing I have ever read. I’m 54 and have read several times my body weight in text over the years, so that’s almost impressive, but not. The explanation of disks is so flagrantly wrong that I used my contacts at a huge manufacturer of disks to check that I hadn’t lost my mind.
I apologise for using words like ‘garbage’, ‘junk’ and ‘nonsense’ in this review, but Amazon’s policy on obscenities stops me from using the words I would normally choose for this.
by Louise
Brilliant book with clear mapping to the specification.
The explanations are clear and simple and easy to pick up (even with a computer science degree, teaching some topics is difficult)
The book also has tasks with independent study areas and exam questions.
Money well spent.
by Regina R.
My son is studying for his A2’s at home during the Pandemic and this is written so well he is thoroughly enjoying computer sciences.
by Faraz
Good book, lots of notes great for learning, okay for revision.
by Mrs Messenger
Needs answers
by sz
As this is a relatively new course, I know many people will be looking to buy this as it is really the only text book out there for this course.
It is a very detailed book with a lot of info. As with all new courses and text books, there will be some errors. Some information that came up in past papers was not really explained that well in this book.
One of the topic, the stored program concept was explained very badly in this text book. They shoouldve use diagrams, etc for that specific chapter but instead it was just a few blocks of text that were hard to understand.
Just to let you know, it doesn’t cover anything on the programming parts of paper 1, you would need the Zig Zag education resources to prepare for that part of paper 1.
For students using AS, it is not clearly labelled in the contents page which chapters are AS and which are A level, this may seem daunting. But it you look carefully, at the start of every chapter it says whether or not it is A level. If you do the AS course only, like i did, 60% of this text book will be unused. They really should have had a separate text book just for AS.
All in all it is a good quality text book with good info. If you learn this book inside out, it will definitely get you an A.
**It is around 2cm thick, which is quite thick.
by Meena Thomas
Good
by Christopher Davies
This is an excellent textbook which thoroughly covers all of the topics contained in AQA’s reformed AS and A level syllabuses in computer science. The explanations are clear and informative with diagrams provided throughout the text to help students understand the material. I have no qualms in recommending this textbook for any student wishing to follow the AQA reformed syllabuses. This is an essential purchase!