ICT Level 3

OCR National Award in ICT (Level 3)

Entry Guidance:

5 GCSEs at grades A* to C or equivalent.  Students should have some previous experience of ICT or a keen interest in ICT. The course will only run if a sufficient number of students express an interest.

Syllabus Outline

  • It is important  to note that this is a 2 year course and there is no option to complete just 1 year of the course as you would with an A/S level course.
  • Students will experience the ICT environment in a variety of approaches including work experience, links with local employers, case studies and research.

Compulsory Units

  • Unit 1  Digital Business Communicaton
  • Unit 2  Collaborative working
  • Unit 3  Problem Solving
  • Unit 4  Creating a Digital Showcase

Additional Units

 Students would take Units 1 to 4 plus 2 additional units which will be selected from the 26 available units.  For full details of the optional units please see the OCR website at http://www.ocr.org.uk

Dependent on numbers of students and other option choices it is hoped to study the formal work experience unit available on the course.  This would involve all students spending time working as an ICT professional in industry.

The course will be timetabled for 5 hours per week in year 1 and 4 hours per week in year 2.

Methods of Assessment

All units are assessed within school by the course tutor and then moderated by the exam board.  Each unit involves the production of a portfolio of work based in a sample exam board assignment.  All portfolios are based on case studies and real world scenarios.  Candidates are expected to solve business related problems by using the ICT skills that they will develop.

General Comments

This course focuses on practical skills taught in real-life situations.  There are no formal written exams and skills developed are practical and applicable; they are also favoured by employers.  Candidates will be expected to complete a good deal of coursework and it is important to recognise that the lack of any formal written examination does not mean that the workload requirement to achieve a pass in this course is any less than any other level 3 qualification.

Candidates must achieve at least a 'pass' grade in all coursework to achieve a 'pass' grade in the overall qualification.  The OCR National Certificate in ICT (Level 3) is equivalent to 1 A Level.

The qualification allows for a number of progression routes into HE or employment.