Welcome to the Computing and IT Department at Reigate College.
My name is Gomathy Krishnaswamy and I’m the course leader for the Level 3 Alternative Academic Qualification Cambridge Advanced National in Computing: Application Development course. At the start of the new academic year we will welcome you to the department in person, but for now, we’d like you to undertake a series of activities to prepare you for starting on the course.
All the tasks should be carried out on your own, and there’ll be the chance to review and discuss what you’ve learnt when we meet together in September.
The tasks are organised in three distinct steps and should all be completed by Choices Day on 25 August 2026. This is to give you the best insight into what the courses will be like and/or help prepare you for them.
Please note, some Course Leaders (for example for Music) may release their tasks earlier, as they may form part of the College’s audition process. If this applies to you, you’ll be notified separately.
New Starters Course Tasks and Activities
| Release date | Suggested Completion Dates | |
| Explore your Subject | 1 June | 1 July |
| Get Going | 1 June | 1 August |
| Aim High | 1 June | 1 September |
Challenge!
Can you design a website?
Have a go, play around with wix.com: https://www.wix.com/blog/2016/11/10-wix-essential-tutorials/
With the link above, open the link entitled ‘create a website’. Use your current ‘school’ login details to sign up to wix.
Using ‘tutorials’, create a simple ‘blank template’ website that has three separate pages. You should be able to move between each page via a navigation bar (menu) at the top of each page.
Decide a theme for your site i.e. yourself – GCSE subjects, hobbies, favourite foods or places of interest etc.
What to include:
- Page title
- Navigation bar
- Image/s
- Video/s
- Colour scheme
- If you want to include a logo (linking to yourself/design theme) have a go.
Understanding how IT links with other subjects
One of the reasons Computing and IT is such an important and fascinating subject is because of the way it links into so many different areas of study. It also helps develop a number of extremely useful skills which, in turn, can be used in many different business industries and roles, such as the following:
- business analyst
- computer forensics
- cyber security
- game development
- hardware engineer
- IT consultant
- IT project manager
- software engineer
- technical support
- web design and development
For example, people working in the IT field have well-developed problem solving and logical thinking skills that can help us understand various complex problems; because they know how to break a problem down into parts, they are able to help produce a solution.
TASK 1: Using these websites (or others you find) to investigate the links between ethics and AI (Artificial Intelligence). Then write a brief essay on how AI will impact businesses and/or society now or in the future;
https://www.ibm.com/topics/artificial-intelligence
https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-is-artificial-intelligence/
https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence/recommendation-ethics
Because Computing and IT has such a broad scope, there are many fascinating aspects of the subject to explore, as well as opportunities to expand your knowledge.
For this series of tasks, I’d like you to explore some of these different areas.
TASK 1: Take a look at the TechQuickie YouTube channel:
Under the videos tab you’ll find an excellent collection of technical videos about many aspects of IT. Please watch a selection, making a note of the ones you found most interesting and most topical.
TASK 2: This free course, Introducing computing and IT, provides a general overview of how digital technologies have come to dominate virtually every aspect of the modern world and some guidance on how to prepare for this digital life.
Visit the Cyber Games UK website and have a look at the information and games on the website. Enjoy the games.
TASK 3: This Open University course analyses several cyber security incidents and looks at what lessons can be learned.
We hope you’ve enjoyed finding out more about some of these areas and we’re looking forward to exploring them together when we start the course.
Course Leader – Computing and IT (A Level Equivalent)
