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We’re refreshing the questions on our KS3 and GCSE Computer Science subject knowledge assessment. The current version remains available. Updated questions will be available from 18 May 2026.

Year 8

Lesson 2 Lights and drums

Curriculum > KS3 > Unit > Lesson

Learners work in groups through an activity that requires them to encode, transmit, and decode short messages, with each group using a different coding scheme and communication medium (signals, light, sounds, holes on paper, etc.). The activity reinforces the learners’ understanding of text representation using sequences of symbols, while emphasis is placed on distinguishing between symbols and the way in which they are embodied in physical media.

Learning objectives

  • Recall that characters can be represented as sequences of symbols and list examples of character coding schemes
  • Measure the length of a representation as the number of symbols that it contains
  • Provide examples of how symbols are carried on physical media

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