We revise qualifications regularly to make sure that they continue to meet the needs of learners, schools and higher education institutions around the world. The 2021-2023 syllabus reflects current thinking in industry and higher education, including the introduction of Robotics and Artificial intelligence (A.I).
How has the syllabus changed?
- The 2021-2023 syllabus provides opportunities for students to demonstrate practical programming skills.
- We have introduced a third Assessement Objective where students will be asked to design, program and evaluate computer systems that solve problems, and make reasoned judgements about them.
- For the first time, we have included a list of key concepts to deepen students' understanding. These are essential ideas, theories, principles or mental tools that help learners to develop a deep understanding and to make links and connections across the subject:
- Computational thinking
- Programming paradigms
- Communication
- Computer architecture and hardware
- Data representation and structures
- We have added a list of command words and their meanings to help learners know what’s expected of them in the exam.
How has the assessment changed?
- For the AS Level qualification, each component is 50% of the total marks.
- For the A Level qualification, each component is 25% of the total marks.
- To allow for practical application time, we have increased the duration of Paper 4.
- We have introduced changes to programming languages, adding Visual Basic (console mode), Python and Java.
- We have removed Pascal/Delphi (console mode).
When do these changes take place?
The updated syllabus is for examination in June and November 2021, 2022 and 2023, as well as March 2021, 2022 and 2023 (India only). Please see the 2021-2023 syllabus above for full details.
Coming soon
We are developing a wide range of support to help you plan and teach the 2021-2023 syllabus.
Support
Look out for resources including a Scheme of work, Example candidate responses, Teacher and Learner guides, all of which will be available from April 2019 onwards through School Support Hub.
Endorsed resources
View the latest resources that are being developed by our Core Team Publishers for the Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science syllabus (9618).
Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science (Hodder)
Develop computational thinking and ensure full coverage of the revised Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science syllabus with this comprehensive Student’s Book written by experienced authors and examiners.
Read more on the Hodder website
Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science (Cambridge University Press)
Detailed descriptions of concepts, reinforced with examples that outline complex subject matter in a clear way. Alongside fundamental definitions, higher-level programming skills are developed through the explanation of processes and consolidated by practical exam-style questions.
Read more on the Cambridge University Press website