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We confirm the syllabus code, exam series and paper route for YCP01. Everything else depends on this.
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A brand-new qualification for first teaching from September 2026: four modular units where students write real Python 3 in a live coding environment across two three-hour practical exams, alongside two theory units. We tutor it unit by unit, from the start.
A simple four-step approach designed to build confidence, close gaps and improve exam performance.
We confirm the syllabus code, exam series and paper route for YCP01. Everything else depends on this.
A diagnostic against the syllabus topics tells us what's secure and what isn't, so we teach the gaps rather than the whole book.
The same tutor teaches each week around school. Concepts build step by step, with the school's pace kept in view.
Past-paper questions begin early, followed by full timed papers marked against the published mark scheme.
Expert, vetted Edexcel International A Level Computer Science tutors who have taught the YCP01 specification. Past-paper work is reviewed against published mark schemes, so your child can see where marks are awarded and where they are being lost. UK-qualified teachers are available on request as a premium option.
Not "edexcel international a level computer science in general" - this syllabus, this tier and these papers.
Your child learns where the marks actually are, not where they feel they should be.
Shared whiteboard, worked solutions and lesson materials saved to review after the session.
The same tutor every week - and if that changes, we tell you first.
This is a new modular qualification. Two IAS units and two IA2 units make the full International A Level, each worth 25%. The two theory units can be sat on paper or on-screen; the other two are three-hour practical programming exams in Python 3.
PAPER
WHAT IT TESTS
DETAILS
HOW WE PREPARE STUDENTS
IAS - UNITS 1 & 2Theory fundamentals in written or on-screen format
1h 30m
80 marks / 25%
Build fluent methods without calculator shortcutsReview mark-scheme working with timed past-paper questionsThree-hour Python 3 practical in a live IDE
3h80 marks / 25%Build fluent methods without calculator shortcutsReview mark-scheme working with timed past-paper questionsIA2 - UNITS 3 & 4Advanced theory, problem-solving and applied scenario work
1h 30m80 marks / 25%Build fluent methods without calculator shortcutsReview mark-scheme working with timed past-paper questionsThree-hour advanced Python 3 practical in an IDE
3h80 marks / 25%Build fluent methods without calculator shortcutsReview mark-scheme working with timed past-paper questionsUnits 2 and 4 are three-hour onscreen practical exams: candidates design, write, test and refine Python 3 in an IDE, using a provided Programming Language Subset.
Figures shown for 0580 and 0980 syllabuses for 2025-2027.
IASUNITS 1 & 2WCP01/01
1h 30m80 marks / 25%Build fluent methods without calculator shortcutsReview mark-scheme working with timed past-paper questionsWCP01/02
3h80 marks / 25%Build fluent methods without calculator shortcutsReview mark-scheme working with timed past-paper questionsIA2UNITS 3 & 4WCP01/03
1h 30m80 marks / 25%Build fluent methods without calculator shortcutsReview mark-scheme working with timed past-paper questionsWCP01/04
3h80 marks / 25%Build fluent methods without calculator shortcutsReview mark-scheme working with timed past-paper questionsUnits 2 and 4 are three-hour onscreen practical exams: candidates design, write, test and refine Python 3 in an IDE, using a provided Programming Language Subset.
First assessment is May/June 2027 (IAS) and May/June 2028 (IAL). Units run in January and June and can be resat. The A* requires an A overall plus at least 90% across Units 3 and 4 combined.
None of these are about ability. Each one is a mechanism in the exam, and every one of them is trainable.
Units 2 and 4 are three-hour Python programming exams in a live IDE. Students who treat Computer Science as a theory subject and do not code regularly lose half the qualification.
The A* rule requires an A overall and at least 90% across Units 3 and 4. The top grade lives in the harder, later units, so they need deliberate planning.
This is modular - an early, under-cooked unit quietly sits in the aggregate but can be resat, with the better of the two most recent attempts counting. A fixable score should not be left to cap the grade.
In the onscreen exams, code must be written, tested and saved correctly in the IDE, and AI-assisted tools are disabled. Off-brief or unsaved solutions cost marks a working program should earn.
Applying knowledge and designing, testing and refining solutions are the biggest objectives, and questions use unfamiliar scenarios. Answers need reasoned problem-solving, not recalled definitions.
These are the main syllabus strands your child is expected to cover. We teach all of them, starting with the gaps that are costing marks first.
Tuition stays aligned to the exact paper or unit structure, so revision time goes where the marks actually move.
Share your child's details and syllabus code. We'll match the right tutor and arrange a free 30-minute demo session.
Yes - it is brand new, for first teaching from September 2026, with first assessment in May/June 2027 (IAS) and May/June 2028 (IAL).
Four: Unit 1 (Principles, theory) and Unit 2 (Practical Programming, Python) at IAS, plus Unit 3 (Advanced Principles, theory) and Unit 4 (Advanced Practical Programming, Python) at IA2.
Half - Units 2 and 4 are three-hour onscreen Python programming exams, where students design, write, test and refine real code in an IDE.
Python 3, written in an integrated development environment, guided by a provided Programming Language Subset. Theory units can be sat on paper or on-screen.
You need an A across the whole International A Level and at least 90% of the marks across the two IA2 units, Units 3 and 4, combined.
Yes. Units run in January and June and can be resat, with the better of the two most recent attempts counting toward the grade.
We replace them - free, and with no argument - and hand over the unit-by-unit progress and known concerns so the new tutor continues seamlessly.
Yes. Both are rigorous; Edexcel's new international A Level is Python-based with two three-hour practicals and theory that can be sat on-screen, while Cambridge uses pseudocode with a choice of three languages and one practical paper. The free assessment maps which suits your child.
