James Gillespie's High School · Computing Science
Higher Computing
Science 2026–27
Your complete course resource. All lessons, notes, and tasks in one place.
18 pupils
4 units
160 hours
SQA Higher
Course units
13 of 14 lessons · started June 2026
CS1
Binary and positive integers
Available
CS2
Two's complement
Available
CS3
Floating-point: mantissa and exponent
Available
CS4
ASCII and Unicode
Available
CS5
Bitmap and vector graphics
Available
CS6
Computer architecture
Available
CS7
Fetch-execute cycle
Available
CS8
Performance factors
Available
CS9
Environmental impact of intelligent systems and energy use
Available
CS10
Computer Misuse Act 1990
Available
CS11
Tracking cookies and DOS attacks
Available
CS12
Encryption: public/private keys, digital certificates and signatures
Available
CS13
Computer Systems revision and past paper practice
Available
COVER
Monday Computer Systems revision · 2-hour supervised session
Available
View all 14 CS lessons →
10 of 22 lessons · started June 2026
SDD1
Development methodologies
Available
SDD2
Analysis: purpose, scope, boundaries and functional requirements
Available
SDD3
Design: structure diagrams and data flow
Available
SDD4
Design: pseudocode and wireframes
Available
SDD5
Data structures: parallel arrays
Available
SDD6
Records and arrays of records
Available
SDD7
Functions and procedures
Available
SDD8
Parameter passing
Available
SDD9
Scope: local vs global
Available
SDD10
Pre-defined functions
Available
COVER
Thursday PyCharm setup and Python challenge ladder · 2-hour supervised session
Available
View all SDD lessons →
Starting October 2026
DDD1
Analysis: end-user and functional requirements
Oct 2026
DDD2
ER diagrams: entities and relationships
Oct 2026
Database lessons available from October 2026
Starting November 2026
Key information
📋 Assessment
80 marks
Question paper · 2 hours · May 2027
40 marks
Assignment · 6 hours · Feb–Mar 2027
📅 Key dates
1 Jun 2026 — Course starts
Oct 2026 — Mid-term break
Jan 2027 — Prelim exam diet
Feb–Mar 2027 — Assignment
May 2027 — SQA exam
Oct 2026 — Mid-term break
Jan 2027 — Prelim exam diet
Feb–Mar 2027 — Assignment
May 2027 — SQA exam
💻 Timetable
Monday P1+P2 — double (120 min)
Tuesday P3 — single (60 min)
Thursday P3+P4 — double (120 min)
5 periods per week · ~160 hours total
Tuesday P3 — single (60 min)
Thursday P3+P4 — double (120 min)
5 periods per week · ~160 hours total
📖 Resources
Glow access guide — Glow, SCHOLAR and e-Sgoil sign-in help
SQA subject page — past papers, marking instructions
Scholar (Heriot-Watt) — study guides for all units
Python: python.org
SQL: sqliteonline.com
SQA subject page — past papers, marking instructions
Scholar (Heriot-Watt) — study guides for all units
Python: python.org
SQL: sqliteonline.com