Information Technology

Cambridge Technical is a vocational qualification designed with the workplace in mind to provide a high-quality alternative to A Levels, with a great range of units to choose from. Vocational education is not just about results, it’s about educating people in the knowledge and skills required for employment and for the community as a whole. It’s also about developing the behaviours and attributes needed to progress and succeed in education and in work. This award is the equivalent of one A level and is designed to be a two year course. 

At Guiseley School you will be studying for the Cambridge Technical Level 3 Information Technology where you will need to complete 5 units. The course offers a specialist qualification that focuses on specific aspects of employment within the appropriate ICT sector. This diploma takes 360 guided learning hours to complete. The topics covered over the two year course are: 

• Fundamentals of IT: A sound understanding of IT technologies and practices is essential for IT professionals. Information learnt in this unit will provide a solid foundation in the fundamentals of hardware, networks, software, the ethical use of computers and how business uses IT.
• Global Information: The purpose of this unit is to demonstrate the uses of information in the public domain, globally, in the cloud and across the internet, by individuals and organisations. You will discover that good management of both data and information is essential, and that it can give any organisation a competitive edge.
• Internet of Everything: This unit is about the use of the internet and how it is impacting people and society. You will learn about the Internet of Everything (IoE) and how it is used. Using your knowledge you will carry out a feasibility study for a potential idea. You will pitch your idea to potential stakeholders and use their feedback to revise your proposal.
• Project Management: This unit will provide you with the opportunity to understand and use various project planning skills and techniques, thereby enabling you to become more effective in the workplace.
• Application Design: In this unit you will explore potential ideas for a new application and develop the fundamental design for it. You will then develop the designs for an application and how users will interact with it.

The course is made up of two externally assessed exams and three coursework units. Each exam is out of 80 marks and you have 1 hour 30 minutes to complete the exam. For the coursework units they are completed in class and marked by your teacher. They are then externally moderated by someone from OCR.

This course can lead to Higher Education in a degrees, apprenticeship or employment. Career routes students may decide to follow include: IT Infrastructure Technician, Emerging Digital Technology Practitioner, Application Developer and Data Analyst.