📋 GCSE Curriculum Coverage
This tool cross-references all Python Coach lessons and challenges against the major UK GCSE Computer Science specifications (AQA, OCR, Edexcel).
Excellent Coverage! All core programming concepts are covered in Lessons 1-27.
1. Fundamental Programming Concepts
| Specification Requirement | Covered in Lesson(s) | AQA | OCR | Edexcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use of sequence | Throughout all lessons | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Use of selection (IF, ELIF, ELSE) | Lesson 10: Selection (IF/ELIF/ELSE) | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Use of iteration (FOR/WHILE) | Lesson 14: While Loops Lesson 13: For Loops | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Data types: Integer, Real/Float, Boolean, Character/String | Lesson 5: Data Types and Type Conversion | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Casting/Type Conversion | Lesson 5: Data Types and Type Conversion | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Assignment operator (=) | Lesson 3: Variables | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Arithmetic: +, -, *, /, //, %, ** | Lesson 4: Arithmetic Operators | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Comparison: ==, !=, <, >, <=, >= | Lesson 10: Selection (IF/ELIF/ELSE) | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Boolean/Logical: AND, OR, NOT | Lesson 11: Boolean Logic | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Input/Output (e.g., print/input) | Lesson 1: Print Statements Lesson 7: User Input | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
2. Data Structures
| Specification Requirement | Covered in Lesson(s) | AQA | OCR | Edexcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrays (1D Lists) | Lesson 15: Lists | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Arrays (2D Lists) | Lesson 16: 2D Lists | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Dictionaries / Records | Lesson 20: Dictionaries | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| String manipulation (e.g., length, sub-string, concatenation) | Lesson 6: String Concatenation Lesson 8: String Methods Lesson 9: Indexing & Slicing | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
3. Procedures and Functions
| Specification Requirement | Covered in Lesson(s) | AQA | OCR | Edexcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defining and calling functions/procedures | Lesson 17: Functions | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Function parameters | Lesson 17: Functions | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Return values | Lesson 17: Functions | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
4. File Handling
| Specification Requirement | Covered in Lesson(s) | AQA | OCR | Edexcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening, writing to, closing a file (W, A modes) | Lesson 19: File Writing | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Reading from a file (R mode, readlines) | Lesson 18: File Reading | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
5. Testing and Reliability
| Specification Requirement | Covered in Lesson(s) | AQA | OCR | Edexcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Validation (e.g., presence, length, type, range) | Lesson 25: Validation Techniques | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Error Handling (TRY/EXCEPT) | Lesson 22: Error Handling | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
6. Algorithms (Searching & Sorting)
| Specification Requirement | Covered in Lesson(s) | AQA | OCR | Edexcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linear Search | Lesson 21: Linear Search | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Binary Search | Lesson 23: Binary Search | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Bubble Sort | Lesson 24: Bubble Sort | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
7. Other Relevant Concepts
| Specification Requirement | Covered in Lesson(s) | AQA | OCR | Edexcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication/Passwords | Lesson 27: Authentication | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Comments | Lesson 2: Comments | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
| Formatting (good practice, indentation) | Throughout all lessons | ✓Covered | ✓Covered | ✓Covered |
13. Database Operations (Board-Specific)
Note: Database operations (like SQL, CRUD) are not covered by the core Python lessons, as these are board-specific topics (e.g., OCR J277-2.3, AQA 3.4.1.3). The focus is on core Python programming.
| Specification Requirement | Covered in Lesson(s) | AQA | OCR | Edexcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQL / CRUD operations | Not Covered | ✓Covered |