Computer Science
Which schools in England make Computer Science a big part of the curriculum, and where results are strongest. Entries and grades from the 2025 performance tables.
Computer Science GCSE was taken in 3,267 schools in England in 2025, with 88,034 entries — about 13% of the Year 11 cohort.
Nationally 30% of entries achieved grade 7 or above. The tables below show the schools where the largest share of pupils take the subject, and where grades are highest (schools with at least 20 entries).
At Madani Secondary Girls' School (Tower Hamlets) 100% of the year group took Computer Science.
At A level, Computer Science was offered in 1,626 schools and colleges, with 16,160 entries — roughly 5% of A level students.
GCSE: schools with the highest share of grades 7–9
Schools with at least 20 entries. England: 30% of entries graded 7–9. High grades often reflect who is admitted (selective and independent schools) as much as teaching.
| # | School | Local authority | Entries | Cohort | Share | Grades 7–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Tiffin Girls' School | Kingston upon Thames | 79 | 176 | 45% | 100% |
| 2 | Westminster School | Westminster | 56 | 122 | 46% | 100% |
| 3 | Wilson's School | Sutton | 49 | 186 | 26% | 100% |
| 4 | Reigate Grammar School | Surrey | 28 | 163 | 17% | 100% |
| 5 | North London Collegiate School | Harrow | 22 | 109 | 20% | 100% |
| 6 | Bromley High School GDST | Bromley | 21 | 88 | 24% | 100% |
| 7 | St Paul's School | Richmond upon Thames | 67 | 201 | 33% | 99% |
| 8 | Reading School | Reading | 62 | 149 | 42% | 98% |
| 9 | King's College School | Merton | 31 | 156 | 20% | 97% |
| 10 | King Edward VI High School for Girls | Birmingham | 30 | 84 | 36% | 97% |
| 11 | The Godolphin and Latymer School | Hammersmith and Fulham | 28 | 131 | 21% | 96% |
| 12 | Tonbridge School | Kent | 50 | 158 | 32% | 96% |
| 13 | The Henrietta Barnett School | Barnet | 50 | 104 | 48% | 96% |
| 14 | City of London School for Girls | City of London | 25 | 100 | 25% | 96% |
| 15 | South Hampstead High School GDST | Camden | 25 | 105 | 24% | 96% |
| 16 | Eton College | Windsor and Maidenhead | 92 | 269 | 34% | 96% |
| 17 | Rugby School | Warwickshire | 23 | 162 | 14% | 96% |
| 18 | The Manchester Grammar School | Manchester | 89 | 212 | 42% | 94% |
| 19 | The Perse School | Cambridgeshire | 118 | 196 | 60% | 94% |
| 20 | Latymer Upper School and Latymer Prep | Hammersmith and Fulham | 50 | 193 | 26% | 94% |
| 21 | Sevenoaks School | Kent | 48 | 245 | 20% | 94% |
| 22 | Highgate School | Haringey | 47 | 182 | 26% | 94% |
| 23 | King Edward VI School | Warwickshire | 30 | 90 | 33% | 93% |
| 24 | Brighton College | Brighton and Hove | 57 | 217 | 26% | 93% |
| 25 | St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School | Bromley | 83 | 128 | 65% | 93% |
| 26 | Haberdashers' Girls' School | Hertfordshire | 40 | 124 | 32% | 93% |
| 27 | Royal Grammar School Guildford | Surrey | 37 | 145 | 26% | 92% |
| 28 | Queen Elizabeth's Hospital | Bristol, City of | 24 | 101 | 24% | 92% |
| 29 | Hampton School | Richmond upon Thames | 71 | 204 | 35% | 92% |
| 30 | King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford | Essex | 82 | 150 | 55% | 91% |
| 31 | Mossbourne Community Academy | Hackney | 23 | 206 | 11% | 91% |
| 32 | Dulwich College | Southwark | 54 | 241 | 22% | 91% |
| 33 | Ark Greenwich Free School | Greenwich | 21 | 102 | 21% | 90% |
| 34 | Cheltenham Ladies' College | Gloucestershire | 31 | 142 | 22% | 90% |
| 35 | Altrincham Grammar School for Boys | Trafford | 82 | 202 | 41% | 90% |
| 36 | Dr Challoner's High School | Buckinghamshire | 51 | 183 | 28% | 90% |
| 37 | Dartford Grammar School | Kent | 90 | 179 | 50% | 90% |
| 38 | Magdalen College School | Oxfordshire | 50 | 113 | 44% | 90% |
| 39 | Saint Ambrose College | Trafford | 48 | 150 | 32% | 90% |
| 40 | Birkdale School | Sheffield | 27 | 68 | 40% | 89% |
A level: schools and colleges where the largest share of students take Computer Science
Entries as a share of A level students (at least 30 A level students and 10 entries). England: 5% of A level students.
What pupils learn in Computer Science, stage by stage
England has no national year-by-year syllabus: exam boards and schools set the order within each stage. These are the statutory blocks from the Department for Education, so a parent can see what a child meets in Years 7–9, what every GCSE candidate must cover, and what waits in the sixth form.
What GCSE Computer Science teaches · Years 10–11
36 learning outcomes from the Department for Education’s statutory subject content, grouped by topic. Each outcome belongs to one of twelve fields of knowledge used across startfrom.today: Digital & ICT Skills (32), Social & Cultural Skills (1), Law & Public Administration (1), Green & Sustainability (1) and others. Exam boards add detail on top of these; the outcomes themselves are the same whichever board a school uses.
Knowledge and Understanding27
- explain how standard algorithms such as binary search and merge sort work — algorithm, binary search, merge sort
- write algorithms using sequence, selection and iteration — iteration, selection, sequence
- design algorithms with defined input, processing and output — input, output, processing
- explain how a given program or algorithm works — algorithm, program, trace
- use data types including integer, Boolean, real, character and string — data type, integer, string
- use data structures including records and arrays — array, data structure, record
- convert numbers between binary, hexadecimal and decimal — binary, decimal, hexadecimal
- perform binary addition and binary shifts — binary addition, binary shift
- explain how text, sound and graphics are represented in binary — data representation, graphics, sound, text
- apply Boolean logic using AND, OR and NOT operators — and, boolean logic, not, or
- construct truth tables to solve logic problems — logical operator, truth table
- explain the purpose of systems software including the operating system — operating system, utility software
- explain the role of CPU components in the fetch-execute cycle — cpu, fetch-execute cycle
- describe main and secondary storage and how devices store data — main storage, secondary storage
- calculate data capacity requirements — calculation, data capacity
- describe hardware components and embedded systems — embedded system, hardware
- explain wired and wireless network connectivity — connectivity, wired network, wireless network
- describe different types of network — network type
- explain methods of network security — network security
- explain the concept of networking protocols and layers — network layer, protocol
- identify forms of cyber attack based on technical weaknesses and behaviour — cyber attack, vulnerability
- use methods to identify vulnerabilities in software systems — software security, vulnerability
- apply ways to protect software systems during design and testing — secure design, software protection
- explain ethical impacts of digital technology on wider society — digital technology, ethics, society
- explain legal impacts of digital technology including privacy — digital technology, legal impact, privacy
- explain environmental impacts of digital technology — digital technology, environmental impact
- describe characteristics of different levels of programming language — high-level language, low-level language
Skills9
- apply decomposition and abstraction to solve a problem systematically — abstraction, decomposition, problem solving
- use pseudocode and flowcharts to represent a solution — flowchart, pseudocode
- design, write and test a program to a specification — program design, specification, testing
- debug and refine a program using a high-level language — debugging, high-level language, refinement
- apply security techniques including validation and authentication — authentication, validation
- evaluate the fitness for purpose of an algorithm using test data — algorithmic efficiency, logical reasoning, test data
- use abstraction to model aspects of the external world in a program — abstraction, modelling
- structure a program into modular parts with documented interfaces — interface documentation, modularity
- apply computing-related mathematics to solve problems — computing mathematics
Source: DfE GCSE computer science subject content (2015), Open Government Licence v3.0. Outcomes are split into single actions and rewritten only where the original bundled several; wording otherwise follows the DfE text. Methodology.
What A level Computer Science teaches · Years 12–13
28 learning outcomes from the Department for Education’s statutory subject content, grouped by topic. Each outcome belongs to one of twelve fields of knowledge used across startfrom.today: Digital & ICT Skills (23), Mathematics & Statistics (4), Law & Public Administration (1). Exam boards add detail on top of these; the outcomes themselves are the same whichever board a school uses.
Knowledge and understanding16
- explain fundamental programming constructsYear 13 — programming fundamentals
- explain data types, including primitive types and complex data structuresYear 13 — data structure, data type
- explain how data is represented in a computer systemYear 13 — data representation
- trace the execution of a given algorithmYear 13 — algorithm tracing
- write algorithms to solve a given problemYear 13 — algorithm design
- select and manage data to produce information for a specific purposeYear 13 — data capture, information processing
- explain the need for and functions of systems softwareYear 13 — operating system, systems software
- describe the characteristics of contemporary computer system architecturesYear 13 — connectivity, input/output, processor, storage
- explain the characteristics and importance of networking protocols and standardsYear 13 — networks, protocol, standards
- evaluate the moral, social, legal and cultural implications of digital technologyYear 13 — cultural impact, digital ethics, legal implications
- explain how algorithm efficiency is measured by execution time and spaceYear 13 — algorithm efficiency, space complexity, time complexity
- compare the efficiency of algorithms that perform the same taskYear 13 — algorithm efficiency
- apply standard algorithms to solve computational problemsYear 13 — standard algorithms
- use databases to store, retrieve and manipulate dataYear 13 — database programming, databases
- design a data model for a databaseYear 13 — data modelling
- compare characteristics of different programming paradigmsYear 13 — programming paradigms
Skills9
- apply a systematic approach to problem solvingYear 13 — problem solving
- design a program to meet a specification or solve a problemYear 13 — program design
- write a program to meet a specification or solve a problemYear 13 — programming
- test a program against a specification or problem requirementsYear 13 — program testing
- justify a program's correctness and efficiency using reasoning and test dataYear 13 — program correctness, program efficiency, test data
- structure a program into modular parts with well-documented interfacesYear 13 — abstraction, documentation, modularity
- use abstraction to model aspects of the real world in a programYear 13 — abstraction, modelling
- apply computing-related mathematics to solve problemsYear 13 — computational mathematics
- write a specification for a programming solutionYear 13 — program specification
Mathematical skills3
- apply Boolean algebra to simplify logical expressionsYear 13 — boolean algebra, logic simplification
- compare the computational complexity of algorithmsYear 13 — computational complexity
- convert numbers between different representations and basesYear 13 — binary, hexadecimal, number bases
Source: DfE GCE AS and A level computer science subject content (2014), Open Government Licence v3.0. Outcomes are split into single actions and rewritten only where the original bundled several; wording otherwise follows the DfE text. Methodology.