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27/03/24

🌟 Our amazing pupils showcased incredible 'Character (to)day' diving into a variety of topics & activities! 🚀 Year 7s showed immense Courageous Advocacy, delving into Bee habitats and acing the Big School litter pick! 🐝🗑️ pic.twitter.com/zt2ebNR4ea

27/03/24

Ahoy there! ⚓️ The Year 9 crew from HGA set sail today for the Maritime Museum in Greenwich. 🌊 Anchors aweigh for a character-filled adventure on the high seas! ⛵️🌟 pic.twitter.com/yTfUrlmJjh

26/03/24

🏐🎉 Incredible news! Our year 8 netball team has smashed their way to the Harris Cup semi-finals! 🌟👏 Big shoutout to our amazing players, especially the year 7 stars shining bright! 🌟✨ Let's cheer them on as they face ! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/E4mK2T0cAT

20/03/24

🚀 Kicking off Creative Careers 2024! 🎨 Students are diving into a world of possibilities, exploring diverse pathways in the creative industry. 📸#CreativeCareers2024 pic.twitter.com/otVpl4Ua0K

19/03/24

🌟 Thrilled to share moments from the Speak Out Regional Final! 🎤 Megan Farr and May Mbabazi shone brightly, representing Harris Garrard Academy with their powerful voices. A celebration of young talent and the magic of expression. ✨ pic.twitter.com/yI8GICW9uF

15/03/24

Off to the we go, with Year 8 in tow, to witness love's timeless tale in a contemporary glow. Thanks to ’s generous sponsorship, Shakespeare's words will leap and dip. 🎭💔 pic.twitter.com/ezNpvHdema

08/03/24

pic.twitter.com/6A3IurXrFK

07/03/24

📚✨ The halls of HGA have transformed into a literary wonderland as our secondary staff channel their inner bookworms, dressing up as their favorite book characters! From the whimsical to the wicked, can you guess the characters? 📸🎭 pic.twitter.com/y8azMifcNq

06/03/24

The yr5/6 Netball final took place between today.Both teams have done exceptionally well to reach the final & were undefeated in their league so we knew we were in for a close game

05/03/24

The yr5/6 Netball final took place between today.Both teams have done exceptionally well to reach the final & were undefeated in their league so we knew we were in for a close game

01/03/24

Just wrapped up another fantastic week at HGA, proving that even when the skies open up, we find our pot of gold in the learning of our students. 🌈 pic.twitter.com/jKjPQHPkQ2

01/03/24

HGA Sixth Formers' visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau was a powerful reminder of history's darkest chapters. Their solemn reflections will echo in our hearts and history classes. pic.twitter.com/k1CaBME2Ns

29/02/24

Excited to kick off day 1 of the Y12 Biology Residential! 🌿 Stay tuned for updates, insights, and all the fascinating discoveries we'll make together! pic.twitter.com/6nqWUWrZBE

27/02/24

We're looking forward to National Careers Week, 4th-9th March 2024. We will be using the many resources available, such as a virtual careers fair, films, talks and booklets to inspire our students about their future options and pathways. https://t.co/kTXTWlyLix pic.twitter.com/RyYS0u3HQR

20/02/24

🎉 What an inspiring afternoon at our Careers Fair! Students explored a world of opportunities with leading employers, colleges, and universities. Their futures look bright! 🌟 Check out the highlights 📸 pic.twitter.com/D5uRNqGvDW

09/02/24

Congratulations to everyone you have done yourselves, your school and your Borough proud https://t.co/AxU7Tsxvjc

09/02/24

Congratulations to everyone you have done yourselves, your school and your Borough proud https://t.co/AxU7Tsxvjc

09/02/24

We are officially through to the Sports hall finals. We finished inside the top 3 of todays qualifier and now will be one of 12 schools in the grand finals on the 19th March! This is the first time in the 3 years we have achieved this! pic.twitter.com/hw1DbJxEo1

09/02/24

We have officially arrived at for the indoor sports athletics London finals representing to team Let’s go Garrard!! pic.twitter.com/op0BNKu50R

09/02/24

Look what arrived in the post! These adorable handmade worry monsters were ordered from over a year ago. Big thanks to the talented knitters - they will bring comfort to many. Therapeutic tools for little ones. pic.twitter.com/r6GhmtALKl

Harris Academies
All Academies in our Federation aim to transform the lives of the students they serve by bringing about rapid improvement in examination results, personal development and aspiration.

Central Office

Bexley

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Clapham

Croydon

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Havering

Merton

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Southwark

Stratford

Sutton

Thurrock

Wandsworth

Westminster

Willesden

Computer Science and IT

Computer Science is a subject in high demand within our globally competitive world. It has seamlessly integrated into various aspects of daily life, becoming an indispensable part of our existence.  

The Computer Science Department is dedicated to empowering all learners to evolve into responsible digital citizens. We strive to equip them with the skills to effectively navigate the vast array of digital resources available in our modern society. 

Our goal is to enhance their knowledge and awareness, enabling them to make informed judgments about the quality and relevance of the information they encounter.  The curriculum has been thoughtfully designed to serve a dual purpose:  

  • Equipping learners with essential knowledge for navigating the digital world safely and responsibly 
  • Fostering a deep understanding of how technology is continuously evolving into exciting new tools.  

It is not merely about teaching students how to use technology effectively; it is about enabling them to comprehend the processes behind its development and redevelopment. 

In addition, the curriculum places a strong emphasis on cultivating resilient learners who can learn from their mistakes and effectively solve problems. This focus on resilience sets the stage for a lifelong commitment to learning and self-improvement, preparing students for an ever-changing future. 


Key Stage 3 overview

The Key Stage 3 curriculum is a dynamic and comprehensive program that offers students exciting challenges and new experiences in the realms of computing, digital literacy, and digital media.

This curriculum is designed to cater to students with varying levels of prior knowledge in computer usage. Its primary objective is to provide a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and understanding in the fundamental concepts that will be covered at KS4 for those pursuing GCSE Computer Science. 


Key Stage 4 overview

Key Stage 4 Students can choose to study GCSE Computer Science or Cambridge National at Key   Stage 4. Each of These courses will build on the knowledge, understanding and skills established through the Computer Science elements studied in Year 7 to Year 9. 

The course will develop students’ computational thinking skills, building on a sound base of conceptual learning and understanding. The computer science cohort will focus on Python, reinforcing the fundamental programming constructs while maintaining a manageable syntactical layout. 


Key Stage 5 overview

Key Stage 5 will build on foundation knowledge gained in previous stages to deepen student knowledge and understanding of computational thinking, programming concepts and problem-solving mechanism, preparing students for employment and further education.  

Furthermore, students are encouraged to enter various national competitions, such as game design and development for the Young Game Designers (YGD) BAFTA competition. They also have the chance to compete against other secondary schools in events like CyberFirst and Cyber Centurion. These competitions not only add excitement to the curriculum but also inspire young people to explore careers in cybersecurity. 

Faculty members are actively involved with the Harris Garrard primary school and the wider community, collaborating with organizations like Computing at School. This collaboration ensures that the curriculum remains not only achievable but also aligned with the evolving needs of students as they prepare for their future educational and career pathways. 


You can download Knowledge Organisers for each year group from our Knowledge Organisers page.

For queries about the ICT and Computing curriculum please contact Christian Yotha-Tchoumi c.yotha@harrisgarrard.org.uk.

Further details of the curriculum can be found below.

Primary Curriculum

Within the context of Harris Garrard Academy, computing is to be taught and celebrated with the use of interactive and challenging lessons to develop responsible, competent and confident learners. We have a diverse demographic who undoubtedly live in a generation where technology largely influences their culture. We wish to prepare them for a world where their future pathways in education and careers will involve computing. 

The primary goal we desire for pupils is to develop a real love for technology and become digitally literate in a more tech-savvy generation.  We at Harris Garrard Academy, are world changers and can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science. We have a responsibility to have a wider understanding of how technology can be used in various contexts as opposed to just on a singular device. 

The direct impact of effective computing lessons is that pupils will use the information they know to then ground this in their own personal experiences. Pupils will understand that computing is a part of their everyday practice; it is not a separate identity. Over time, the aim is for pupils to gradually develop their own passion to create their own content and use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly. Pupils will value the technology that we are privileged to have in the 21st century and the important place that it has in our lives. 

Mr Abbas, AP &  Primary Computing Lead

Year 7

Knowledge 

Assessment 

Skills / Future Pathways 

 

E-safety How to become effective digital citizens? 

Essential for safe use of technology in their digital lives, as they become frequent users of social media and the Internet. 

 

  • Computer room rules 
  • Email/respectful communication 
  • Use of OneNote 
  • Password security 
  • E-safety 
  • Be kind-Safe use of social media. 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Application of O365 
  • Practice using Teams (homework’s). 
  • End of Term Assessment 
  • Build on the IT use from primary and their 
  • homes 
  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Impacts of digital technology on wider society 

 

 

Scratch: How do we program a computer? (Block programming) 

 

  • Know how to create basic programmes to control events on 
  • scratch 
  • Develop programming skills, resilience and problem solving. 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Screenshots and annotation of completed programs on Microsoft Teams. 
  • create and run programs on scratch. 
  • End of Term assessment 

Future learning: 

  • code club (extra-curricular) 
  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Fundamentals of algorithms 
  • Programming 

 

How do computers work? 

How do computers talk to each other? 

Understand the hardware and networking. 

 

 

  • Types of Computer system 
  • History of computer development and look at the work of 
  • Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing 
  • Components of a laptop – inputs and outputs 
    • Monitor 
    • Keyboard 
    • Motherboard 
    • CPU 
    • RAM 
    • ROM 
  • Advantages and disadvantages of networking, network types and network topologies. 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students’ complete worksheets to evidence their understanding. 
  • understanding with short definitions and matching pair activities. 
  • End of Term assessment 
  • MCQs 

Future learning: 

  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Hardware and software 
  • Software classification 
  • System architecture 
  • Computer networks 

 

  • Personal development 
  • 5-Moral development 

Computational Thinking 

This unit is looking at Algorithms in relation to flowcharts and pseudocodes. 

 

  • Students introduced to Computational thinking. 
  • Students create basic flowcharts. 
  • Students will be introduced to pseudocodes. 
  • Students will learn basic construct concepts (Iteration, selection) 

 

  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students create flowcharts. 
  • Students screenshots to show their understanding on Microsoft Teams 
  • Students to emulate their App. 
  • End of Term assessment 

 

Future learning: 

  • Scratch and Python 
  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Programming 
  • Impacts of digital technology on wider 
  • society 

Searching the web 

Enable students to be able to search the internet 

Search for information efficiently 

  • What is the internet? 
  • Primary & secondary information 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 

Future learning: 

  • Searching the internet 
  • Advanced searches 
    • AND 
    • OR 
    • NOT 
  •    •  wildcard 
  • End of Test assessment 
  • MCQs 
  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Impacts of digital technology on wider 
  • society 

 

  • Social development 
           

 

 

Year 8

Knowledge 

Assessment 

Skills / Future Pathways 

E-safety How to become effective digital citizens? 

Essential for safe use of technology in their digital lives, as they continue to become frequent users of social media and the Internet. 

  • Computer room rules 
  • Email/respectful communication 
  • Use of OneNote 
  • Password security 
  • E-safety 
  • Be kind-Safe use of social media. 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Practice using Teams 
  • (homework) 
  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Impacts of digital technology on wider society 
  • 1.   Personal development 

Data Modelling and Spreadsheet:  

Understanding how and why we need to be able to model. Develop skills using spreadsheets to analyse data. Develop skills to support future study, work and life in the modern world 

  • Students introduced to Spreadsheet software and key language. 
  • Students understand the purpose and use of basic functions and formulae, including the importance of BODMAS and how to use cell references and cell ranges correctly. 
  • Students will choose, create, and interpret basic charts and graphs. 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students screenshots to show their understanding of spreadsheet in Microsoft Teams 
  • Students’ complete tasks 
  • using screenshots as evidence on Microsoft Teams 
  • End of Term assessment 
  • MCQs 

Future learning: 

  • Numeracy 
  • Digital Literacy 

Bits and Binary Why is Binary so important? 

Understand how images and sound are stored using binary. 

 

  • Computers use Binary. 
  • Character set is a binary bit pattern that represents character in coding methods. 
  • Binary addition to a given problem. 
  • Images stored in a binary bit pattern. 
  • Represent numbers/characters using binary. 
  • Develop knowledge of images using 1 bit image 
  • representation. 
  • Sound is analogue. 
  • Computers use digital. 
  • Create, modify and interpret simple logic circuit diagrams. 

 

  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Create an image using binary bit patterns. 
  • Create simple logic gate diagrams. 
  • End of Term assessment 

 

Future learning: 

  • Future learning: 
  • webpages 
  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Data representation (Year 10) 
  • Boolean Logic  

 

intro to programming using python 

  • Understand what python is. 
  • Understand and use a variety of basic constructs in Python such as if 
  • Variables 
  • Comments 
  • IF statements 
  • Loops 
  • Lists and dictionaries. 
  • Application of basic constructs in Python 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students’ complete tasks using screenshots as evidence on Microsoft Teams 
  • Students submit a collection of annotated codes outlining. 
  • each skill. 
  • End of unit assessment 
  • MCQs 

Previous learning: 

  • Scratch (Yr 7) 

 

Future learning 

  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Fundamentals of algorithms 
  • Data types 
  • Programming 
       

 

 

 

Webpages: Simple intro to text language program. What language are webpages created in? 

  • Web browser 
  • HTML basic 
  • Plan a website with user in mind. 
  • Efficient website design 
  • Evidencing and evaluating website with peer review 
  • Apply feedback form (MS embedded) 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Plan sitemap, page design and content on all pages 
  • Evidence webpages using 
  • OneNote. 
  • End of Term assessment 
  • MCQs 

Future learning: 

  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Programming concepts 
  • Impacts of digital technology on wider society 

Year 9

Knowledge 

Assessment 

Skills / Future Pathways 

E-safety How to become effective digital citizens? 

Essential for safe use of technology in their digital lives, as they continue to become frequent users of social media and the Internet. 

  • Computer room rules 
  • Email/respectful communication 
  • Use of OneNote 
  • Password security 
  • E-safety 
  • Be kind-Safe use of social media. 
  • Legislation 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Practice using Teams. 
  • (HomeWorks) 

Future learning: 

  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Impacts of digital technology on wider society 

 

  • Personal development 
  • 2.   Social development 

Computational Thinking How to use computational thinking to problem solve? 

 

  • Apply abstraction and decomposition to a problem. 
  • Eisteins Riddle 
  • Knights Tale 
  • Logic puzzles 
  • iDEA award 
  • Bebras challenge 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students complete task and evidence work on Microsoft Teams/class  
  • Books 

 

 

 

Future learning: 

  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Fundamentals of algorithms 
  • Problem solving 
  • Resilience 

Cryptography & Cybersecurity How do we stay safe from hacker? 

Develop problem-solving skills, resilience, and computational thinking skills. 

  • To understand how cryptography has been used in history. 
  • Understand the need for cryptography today. 
  • Develop skill in using a variety of ciphers. 

 

  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students complete evidence 
  • Microsoft Teams 
  • End of term assessment 
  • MCQs 

Future learning: 

  • GCSE Computer Science Legislation 

 

 

  • 2. Social development including political and current affairs awareness 

Programming and Computational Thinking 

  • Understand what python is. 
  • Understand and use a variety of basic constructs in Python such as if 
  • Variables 
  • Comments 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students’ complete tasks using IDLE evidence on Microsoft Teams 
  • Previous learning: 
  • Scratch and Python (Yr 7/8) 

 

  • IF statements 
  • Loops 
  • Lists and dictionaries. 
  • Application of basic constructs in Python 
  • Students submit a collection. 
  • of annotated codes outlining each skill 
  • End of unit assessment 
  • MCQs 

Future learning: 

  • GCSE Computer Science 
  • Algorithms 
  • Data types 
  • Programming 

Databases 

Develop understanding of Databases 

  • What is a database? 
  • What is the purpose of a database? 
  • Components of a database 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students complete evidence 
  • Microsoft Teams 
  • End of unit assessment 
  • MCQs 

Future learning: 

  • GCSE Computer Science Legislation 

 

 

  • 2. Social development including political and current affairs awareness 

Year 10-11

Knowledge 

Assessment 

Skills / Future Pathways 

Computer System-J277/01 

 

  • 1.1 Systems architecture 
  • 1.2 Memory and storage 
  • 1.3 Computer networks, connections and protocols 
  • 1.4 Network security 
  • 1.5 Systems software 
  • 1.6 Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental 
  • impacts of digital technology 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Practice using Teams. 
  • (HomeWorks) 

Future learning/Path: 

  • A Level Computer Science 
  • Impacts of digital technology on wider society 

 

  • Personal development 
  • 2.   Social development 

Computational thinking, algorithms and 

Programming - J277/02 

  • 2.1 Algorithms 
  • 2.2 Programming fundamentals 
  • 2.3 Producing robust programs 
  • 2.4 Boolean logic 
  • 2.5 Programming languages and Integrated 
  • Development Environments 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students complete task and evidence work on Microsoft Teams/class books 

Future learning/ Path: 

  • A Level Computer Science 

 

Year 12-13

Knowledge 

Assessment 

Skills / Future Pathways 

Computer systems (Component 01) 

  • The characteristics of 
  • contemporary processors, 
  • input, output and storage 
  • devices 
  • • Software and software 
  • development 
  • • Exchanging data 
  • • Data types, data structures and 
  • algorithms 
  • • Legal, moral, cultural and 
  • ethical issues 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Practice using Teams. 
  • (HomeWorks) 

Future learning/Path: 

  • Apprenticeships  
  • University 
  • workplace 

 

  • Personal development 
  • 2.   Social development 

Algorithms and programming (Component 02) 

  • Elements of computational 
  • thinking 
  • Problem solving and 
  • programming 
  • Algorithms to solve problems. 
  • and standard algorithms 
  • Teacher/pupil questioning 
  • Students complete task and evidence work on Microsoft Teams/class books 

Future learning/ Path: 

  • Apprenticeships  
  • University 
  • workplace 
  •  
  • Personal development 
  • 2.   Social development  

Careers

This course not only provides a strong academic foundation but also offers practical skills that are valuable in a wide range of professions, including: 

  • IT Technician 
  • App Designer 
  • Network Engineer 
  • Data Analyst 
  • Journalist (with a focus on tech reporting) 
  • Robotics Engineer 
  • Programmer 
  • Telemetry Analyst (e.g., in car racing) 
  • Digital Design and Image Manipulation 
  • Interface Design 
  • Web Designer 
  • Software Development 
  • Entrepreneur (with tech-based startups) 
  • GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) Roles 
  • Cybersecurity Specialist 
  • Cryptologist