How to prepare for the Higher Computing Science exam

Higher Computing Science: Start here

Higher Computing Science rewards candidates who have practised answering questions in context, not just learned the notes. Here is what the exam looks like, what the examiners keep noticing, and a plan from now to May.

What is in the exam

The question paper is worth 80 marks and lasts 2 hours. It is sat in May.
Section 1 (55 marks) is for everyone: software design and development (most of it) and computer systems.
Then you answer one of two sections, each worth 25 marks: database design and development or web design and development. Your teacher will tell you which one your class has studied.
The assignment is worth another 40 marks. It is done in class under supervision, before the exam, and the work must be your own. Practise the skills it needs (programming, plus databases or web pages) before it starts.

What the questions are like

Almost every question is set in a context: a booking system, a sensor log, a club's database, a business's website. The longest questions in Section 1 ask you to write an algorithm, often combining a standard algorithm with an array of records, a file and a sub-program with parameters. Answers must be about the scenario: general points that would fit any program rarely gain marks.

Code in the paper is written in SQA reference language. Some steps, such as opening a file or taking a substring, are described in words inside angle brackets. You can write your answers in reference language or in a language you know, such as Python.

Where marks are lost

The examiners publish a course report on each exam, and some points come up year after year. Each of these has its own short guide, with two exam-style questions to try:

A revision plan

Now to Christmas: cover every topic. Fill the gaps from class, one topic at a time. After each topic, answer questions on it without looking at your notes.
Prelims (many schools hold them in the winter): treat them as a full practice run. Afterwards, go through every lost mark and work out why it was lost.
January to March: keep coming back, and write code by hand. Return to older topics every week or two. Write the standard algorithms, record structures and SQL from memory, on paper.
April and May: past papers under time. 80 marks in 120 minutes is a mark every minute and a half. Mark your answers with the official marking instructions, so you learn what gains the mark and what does not.

Habits that help

Test yourself instead of re-reading. Answering a question, even getting it wrong, makes you remember more than reading the same page again.
Trace code with a trace table. Many questions ask what a program displays, or what a variable holds after a loop.
Learn from the mistakes you were sure about. If you were certain and wrong, find out where your idea went wrong.
Use the scenario's words. Name the fields, tables, elements and variables in the question, not general ones.

The research behind these habits is on our Built with science page.

The official past papers and marking instructions are free on the SQA past papers page. This site is not connected to the SQA or Qualifications Scotland.

The full course covers every topic like this. Every topic in Higher Computing Science has a short note, and a practice quiz with feedback on every answer, plus coding lessons in Python, SQL and HTML, a full mock exam and a progress report for parents.

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This site is independent: it is not connected to the SQA or Qualifications Scotland. Points from the examiners' course reports are given in our own words.