Key Stage 3 · ages 11 to 14
Key Stage 3 computing: what your child learns
In Years 7 to 9, your child programs in at least two languages, one of them text-based, using lists and functions, and builds simple models of real problems. They learn how hardware and software work together, how numbers, text, pictures and sound are stored in binary, and simple Boolean logic such as AND, OR and NOT. Schools often choose searching and sorting to compare algorithms, and teach online security.
Guides for parents
Key Stage 3 computing
Binary addition
How Key Stage 3 children add binary numbers column by column, what happens when 1 + 1 makes a carry, what overflow means, with a fully worked 8-bit example.
Key Stage 3 computing
Binary and decimal conversion
How Key Stage 3 children write numbers in binary and convert between binary and decimal, how text, sound and pictures are stored as 1s and 0s, with a worked example.
Key Stage 3 computing
Boolean logic: AND, OR, NOT
What Boolean logic means in Key Stage 3 computing: AND, OR and NOT, truth tables, logic gates in circuits and conditions in programs, with a worked example.
Key Stage 3 computing
Comparing algorithms
How KS3 students use logical reasoning to compare algorithms for the same problem, counting steps, testing cases and weighing trade-offs, with a worked example.
Key Stage 3 computing
Abstraction and modelling
What abstraction and computational modelling mean in KS3 computing, how students simplify real-world problems into models, and how to support a teenager at home.
Key Stage 3 computing
Projects using several applications
How KS3 computing projects work: choosing and combining spreadsheets, documents, images and more to meet a real user’s needs, with a worked plan and tips for parents.
Key Stage 3 computing
Lists, tables and arrays
What data structures are in Key Stage 3 computing, how lists, arrays and tables store many values under one name, why counting starts at 0, and how to help at home.
Key Stage 3 computing
Digital artefacts for an audience
How KS3 computing teaches children to create, reuse and repurpose digital work for a chosen audience, with design, usability, accessibility and trustworthiness explained.
Key Stage 3 computing
Computer hardware components
What the parts of a computer do at Key Stage 3: the processor, memory, storage, input and output devices, how instructions are fetched and run, and how to help at home.
Key Stage 3 computing
Spotting and reporting online concerns
How KS3 computing teaches teenagers to recognise inappropriate content, contact and conduct online and to report concerns, with a worked scenario and advice for parents.
Key Stage 3 computing
Online identity, privacy and security
What KS3 computing teaches teenagers about protecting their online identity, passwords, privacy settings, phishing and digital footprint, and how parents can support.
Key Stage 3 computing
Functions and procedures
What functions and procedures are in Key Stage 3 computing, why programmers split code into reusable parts, and how parameters and return values work.
Key Stage 3 computing
Images and sound as binary
How KS3 computing explains pictures as pixels and sound as samples stored in binary, with resolution, colour depth, sample rate, file size and compression explained.
Key Stage 3 computing
Binary, text and ASCII
How KS3 children learn that computers store text as numbers in binary, with ASCII and Unicode, binary conversion and addition, simple Boolean logic and a worked example.
Key Stage 3 computing
Searching algorithms
How KS3 students learn linear and binary search, why binary search needs sorted data, a worked example and how to practise the idea at home with simple games.
Key Stage 3 computing
Software and system communication
How Key Stage 3 children learn the difference between system and application software, what an operating system does, and how networks send data in packets.
Key Stage 3 computing
Sorting algorithms
How KS3 students learn sorting algorithms such as bubble, insertion and merge sort, with a step-by-step bubble sort example and ways to practise at home.
Key Stage 3 computing
How a CPU runs instructions
What KS3 computing teaches about the CPU, memory, storage and the fetch, decode, execute cycle, with a worked example, common mistakes and ways to help at home.
Key Stage 3 computing
Text-based programming
How Key Stage 3 children move from block-based coding to typing programs in a text language, how they plan, test and debug, and how to support them at home.
Everything in the Key Stage 3 computing curriculum
The National Curriculum topics for Key Stage 3, in the order the National Curriculum lists them.