--- title: "AQA A-level Computer Science 7517 Help | Skeleton Program" description: "Help with AQA A-level Computer Science 7517: the onscreen Paper 1, the skeleton program issued in advance, Paper 2 and the project. First class free." canonical: https://learn.modernagecoders.com/aqa-a-level-computer-science-7517-help source: src/pages/aqa-a-level-computer-science-7517-help.html --- > Help with AQA A-level Computer Science 7517: the onscreen Paper 1, the skeleton program issued in advance, Paper 2 and the project. First class free. In short AQA 7517 splits three ways: an on-screen Paper 1 of two and a half hours at 40 per cent, a written Paper 2 of the same length at 40 per cent, and a practical project worth 75 marks and 20 per cent. Paper 1 is the unusual one. AQA issues preliminary material and a skeleton program in advance, in whichever of C#, Java, Python or VB.Net a school has chosen, and candidates then write, adapt and extend programs in an electronic answer document during the exam. Preparing for it means reading and navigating a codebase somebody else wrote, which is a distinct skill from writing one from scratch and the one most students have least practice in. We teach both, plus the theory Paper 2 rewards. The first lesson is free, then USD 100 a month in a group or USD 150 one to one. Start here ## Three courses for A-level candidates Depth in a language, the algorithms Paper 2 leans on, and the data work the project usually needs. Cards open the syllabus. [![Python Masterclass course thumbnail](/images/python-college.webp) AQA A / 01 Python, Zero to Advanced Depth well past GCSE, including the file handling, structures and object work a skeleton program will assume. Open the syllabus →](/courses/python-programming-masterclass-zero-to-advanced-college)[![Data Structures & Algorithms Course course thumbnail](/images/dsa-college.webp) AQA A / 02 Data Structures and Algorithms Trees, graphs, complexity and the theory of computation content, worked on paper before any code. Open the syllabus →](/courses/data-structures-algorithms-masterclass-college)[![Data Science Course course thumbnail](/images/data-science-college.webp) AQA A / 03 Data Science, Complete For students whose project involves real data, and for the Big Data content in the specification. Open the syllabus →](/courses/data-science-complete-masterclass-college) The skeleton program ## You meet the code before the exam, and you did not write it This is the defining feature of AQA's A-level and the one students most often under-prepare for. What the specification says For Paper 1, "We will issue Preliminary Material, a Skeleton Program (available in each of the Programming Languages) and, where appropriate, test data, for use in the exam." Candidates "answer a series of short questions and write/adapt/extend programs in an Electronic Answer Document provided by us". ### Why this is a different skill Writing a program from an empty file and extending somebody else's program are not the same activity. The second demands that you find your way around unfamiliar structure, work out what a function is for from how it is used, and change one part without breaking three others. A student who has only ever written their own code from scratch meets that for the first time in an exam, which is the worst possible place to meet it. ### What good preparation looks like Read the skeleton out loud, function by function, and say what each one is for before changing anything. Draw the call structure on paper. Run it and break it deliberately to see what depends on what. Then practise small modifications against a clock. Adding a feature to somebody else's program in twenty minutes is a skill that improves quickly and only with repetition. | Habit | What it looks like | Why the exam rewards it | | --- | --- | --- | | Reading before typing | Explaining each subroutine in your own words, without changing anything | The questions assume you know where things are; hunting in the exam costs minutes you do not have | | Tracing by hand | Following a value through the program on paper | Short questions frequently ask what the program does with a given input | | Small safe changes | Extending behaviour without disturbing what already works | Adapt and extend are the specification's own words for what Paper 1 asks | The skeleton is provided in each supported language, so a candidate works in whichever one their school picked. AQA supports C#, Java, Python and VB.Net, notes that Python 2 is no longer supported, and says schools "will be asked to indicate their programming language preference at the start of the study of the" course. That decision is made for a student, usually before they arrive in Year 12. Source, read 20 September 2026: [AQA AS and A-level Computer Science (7516, 7517) specification](https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/computer-science-and-it/as-and-a-level/computer-science-7516-7517), version 1.6, 31 July 2023, for exams June 2016 onwards. Check the current version on AQA's site; your school will confirm which applies and which language it has chosen. How it is assessed ## Forty, forty, twenty Three components, two of them exams of identical length and very different character. | Component | Format | Weight | What it assesses | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Paper 1 | On-screen exam, 2 hours 30 minutes | 40 per cent | The ability to program, plus theory from the programming, data structures, algorithms and theory of computation sections, and the systematic approach to problem solving | | Paper 2 | Written exam, 2 hours 30 minutes | 40 per cent | Data representation, computer systems, organisation and architecture, consequences of computing, networking, databases, Big Data and functional programming | | Project | Non-exam assessment, 75 marks | 20 per cent | Using the knowledge and skills from the course "to solve or investigate a practical problem", following a systematic approach | ### Paper 1 is not a written paper It is sat on screen, in an electronic answer document AQA provides. A student who has revised programming only on paper is preparing for the wrong medium. ### Paper 2 is genuinely broad It ranges from logic gates to databases to functional programming, and the extended-answer questions reward writing that is structured rather than merely correct. ### The project is a fifth of it Twenty per cent and 75 marks, and unlike the papers it is spread over months, which makes it the component most often left too late. Two A-level topics catch GCSE-strong students out because they have no GCSE equivalent at all: functional programming and Big Data. Neither is hard once taught, and both are frequently squeezed into the last term because they sit late in the specification. Planning them earlier is one of the cheapest improvements available to a Year 12. On the project itself, the marks and the board-specific rules are set out on [the A-level coursework page](/a-level-computer-science-nea-help), which compares AQA and OCR directly. We do not work on any candidate's project, and that line does not move. Preparing for each part ## Three components, three different plans The most common A-level mistake is revising all three the same way. They reward almost nothing in common. | Component | The highest-value habit | The commonest mistake | | --- | --- | --- | | Paper 1 | Working inside somebody else's codebase, weekly, at a keyboard | Practising only from a blank file, so the skeleton is unfamiliar in May | | Paper 2 | Writing extended answers and having them marked by a person | Revising by reading notes, which shows knowledge but never tests expression | | Project | Starting early and keeping a decision log from day one | Beginning in Year 13 and writing the analysis after the code | ### For Paper 1 Use a codebase that is not yours every single week. Any real program will do: read it, explain it, extend it, break it. The specific skeleton arrives when AQA issues it, and by then the skill should already exist. Then work at the keyboard, in the language your school chose, with the clock running. Fluency and navigation are the two things that decide this paper. ### For Paper 2 The content is broad and mostly learnable, so the marginal marks are in extended answers. Write them, hand them to somebody who will mark them honestly, and rewrite. Functional programming and Big Data deserve a term of their own rather than a fortnight in April. Our line on the project is the same as everywhere on this site. We do not work on it, we do not review it, and we will decline if asked, because a project that counts for 20 per cent has to be the candidate's own. What we do teach is everything it assumes: structuring a program, testing it properly, working with data, and writing about your own decisions clearly. [The page on understanding the code](/understand-the-code-dont-copy-paste-uk) covers what the awarding bodies now say about AI in assessed work, which matters more at A level than anywhere else. For students weighing up A level in the first place, or arriving from a different GCSE board, the three English GCSE specifications differ more than most people expect, and the [AQA GCSE page](/aqa-gcse-computer-science-8525-help) is the natural place to start. Progression ## Four rungs across Years 12 and 13 Where a student stands is judged by what they can do inside an unfamiliar program, not by what they can recite. | Rung | When | What should be true | | --- | --- | --- | | 1. Fluent beyond GCSE | Early Year 12 | Comfortable with structures, files and objects in the school's chosen language | | 2. Reading other people's code | Across Year 12 | Able to explain an unfamiliar program and extend it without breaking it | | 3. The hard theory | Year 12 into Year 13 | Theory of computation, complexity, functional programming and Big Data actually taught, not deferred | | 4. Writing to be marked | Year 13 | Extended answers that are structured, and a project with a decision log behind it | ### Rung two is the differentiator It is the rung nobody sets out to climb, because school work is almost always writing your own program from nothing. The exam is not. The topic sequence past A level runs down the [coding roadmap](/coding-roadmap). ### Rung three cannot be left to spring Functional programming and Big Data have no GCSE ancestor, so a student meets them cold. Late exposure turns learnable content into a panic. Lessons ease off before the papers and restart afterwards. The catalogue ## Nine courses for sixth-form computer scientists Grouped by which part of the A-level they serve. The free lesson settles the starting point. I ### Depth in a language For the on-screen paper UK / A1 / 01 #### Python, zero to advanced Well past GCSE, into the structures and object work a skeleton program assumes. [Open the syllabus](/courses/python-programming-masterclass-zero-to-advanced-college) UK / A1 / 02 #### Java, complete For sixth forms that chose Java, taught with the same emphasis on reading as writing. [Open the syllabus](/courses/complete-java-programming-masterclass-college) UK / A1 / 03 #### Git and GitHub Navigating and changing a codebase safely, which is the exact Paper 1 skill in professional form. [Open the syllabus](/courses/git-github-version-control-course-for-college-students)II ### The theory For the written paper UK / A2 / 01 #### Data structures and algorithms Trees, graphs and complexity, worked on paper where the exam will ask for them. [Open the syllabus](/courses/data-structures-algorithms-masterclass-college) UK / A2 / 02 #### Databases and SQL The databases section done properly rather than skimmed in the final term. [Open the syllabus](/courses/mysql-database-complete-masterclass-college) UK / A2 / 03 #### Competitive programming Speed and correctness under constraint, for students who want to be well clear of the syllabus. [Open the syllabus](/courses/competitive-programming-masterclass-college)III ### Around the project Skills it assumes, never the project itself UK / A3 / 01 #### Data science, complete For projects built on real data, and for the Big Data content in the specification. [Open the syllabus](/courses/data-science-complete-masterclass-college) UK / A3 / 02 #### Full stack web development Building something with a database behind it, which many projects turn out to need. [Open the syllabus](/courses/full-stack-web-development-masterclass-college) UK / A3 / 03 #### Python and AI automation Working alongside tools properly, with a record of what came from where. [Open the syllabus](/courses/python-ai-automation-masterclass-college) How lessons work ## Somebody else's code, every week Teachers work from India, where the clock never moves, so the UK is five and a half hours behind from October and four and a half from March. Slots are agreed in UK time. Early evening The usual choice for Year 12 and 13 students. Later evening For students with sport, work or a long journey home. Weekend morning Long enough for full timed practice and a proper review. ### Read before you write Every week a student explains a program they did not write, function by function, before changing a line of it. ### At a keyboard Paper 1 is on screen, so practice is on screen, in the language the school chose. ### Extended answers marked Written responses handed in and marked by a person, because that is the only way expression improves. ### Theory taught early Functional programming and Big Data planned into Year 12 rather than left to the final term. ### A clear line on the project We never work on it, review it or advise on its content. We teach the skills it assumes. ### Groups by level Five to ten students at one stage, reading each other's changes to the same program. Student work ## Work our older students have published Four projects built in lessons, none of them anybody's assessed coursework. More in [student labs](/student-labs). ![NutriLife AI nutrition coach project screenshot](/images/projects/nutrilife.webp) AI and ML #### NutriLife An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target. by Bhavya · [Open it](https://nutrilife-bhavya.lovable.app) ![Misti AI chatbot for maths and coding screenshot](/images/projects/misti.webp) AI and ML #### Misti A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student. by Harshit · [Open it](https://misti.modernagecoders.com) ![GuardianX AI internet safety assistant screenshot](/images/projects/guardianx.webp) AI and ML #### GuardianX An assistant that helps a young person recognise unsafe situations online. by Vivaan · [Open it](https://guardianx-cybersaver.lovable.app) ![SkyCast weather forecast application screenshot](/images/projects/skycast.webp) Web app #### SkyCast A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location. by Krish Fees ## What A-level tuition costs One charge a month in US dollars, the rate for every country outside India. The free lesson comes first and billing starts only when a course and a weekly time are agreed. Free first class USD 0 no card required - A full lesson on real 7517 material - An honest view of which component is weakest - Nothing asked for but a number Book it Group batch USD 100 a month, billed in US dollars - Five to ten students at one stage - The same teacher across the year - Written answers marked weekly - Fewer lessons in the run-up to the papers Start here One to one USD 150 a month, billed in US dollars - Only the student and the teacher - Planned backwards from the exam timetable - Suits a candidate with a specific grade in view Enquire What families say ## Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews From Google, word for word, unpaid and unprompted. ★★★★★ "The one step solution for my son. Modern Age Coders make learning coding so simple that kids love it. The teachers explain complex concepts clearly with practical exercises and interactive content." Ria Mukherjee Parent ★★★★★ "Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me. I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I can now confidently write complex programs with ease." Samriddha Mondal Student ★★★★★ "One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development." Vansh Agarwal Student ★★★★★ "My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coders classes. This is his first online class and he eagerly looks forward to it. I can already see his improvement, and the teachers are very cooperative." Sonam Oswal Parent of Dhairya ★★★★★ "Modern Age Coders have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence and inspires them to learn without hesitation." Sonu Goyal Parent ★★★★★ "I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding." Ritu Kedia Parent Questions about AQA 7517 ## What A-level candidates and parents ask ### How is AQA A-level Computer Science assessed? Paper 1 is an on-screen exam of two and a half hours worth 40 per cent, Paper 2 is a written exam of the same length worth 40 per cent, and the non-exam assessment is 75 marks and 20 per cent. ### What is the skeleton program? A program AQA issues before Paper 1, available in each supported language, alongside preliminary material and, where appropriate, test data. Candidates work with it during the exam. ### Is Paper 1 taken on a computer? Yes. Students answer short questions and write, adapt and extend programs in an electronic answer document AQA provides. ### Which languages does AQA support? C#, Java, Python and VB.Net, with Python 2 no longer supported. Schools indicate their preference at the start of the course, so the choice is usually made for a student. ### How should a student prepare for the skeleton? By working inside other people's programs every week, long before the skeleton arrives. Reading, explaining, extending and breaking code is a separate skill from writing your own. ### What is in Paper 2? Data representation, computer systems, organisation and architecture, consequences of computing, networking, databases, Big Data and functional programming, in compulsory short-answer and extended-answer questions. ### Which topics catch students out? Functional programming and Big Data, because neither has a GCSE equivalent and both sit late in the specification, so they are often rushed in the final term. ### Will you help with the project? No. It is 20 per cent of the A-level and it has to be the candidate's own. We teach the skills it assumes and decline any request to work on the project itself. ### Can a student use AI while preparing? For our own exercises, yes, in a fixed order: understand, predict, then ask, with a record of what the tool contributed. For assessed work the awarding bodies' rules apply and they are strict. ### What does it cost? The opening lesson is free. After that a group place is USD 100 a month and one-to-one teaching USD 150, billed monthly with nothing in advance. Elsewhere on this site ## Where to read next Each page takes a different part of this further. ### [A-level Computer Science coursework](/a-level-computer-science-nea-help) Where the project marks sit at AQA and OCR, and what the boards say about AI. ### [AQA GCSE Computer Science 8525](/aqa-gcse-computer-science-8525-help) The same board two years earlier, where the difficulty is notational. ### [Understand the code, do not copy-paste it](/understand-the-code-dont-copy-paste-uk) Why declared AI content cannot earn marks in assessed work. ### [Coding and AI classes in England](/coding-and-ai-classes-in-england) What the computing curriculum requires and who has to follow it. ### [British Informatics Olympiad](/british-informatics-olympiad-preparation) Where a strong A-level student can go beyond the specification. ### [Coding classes in the UK](/coding-classes-in-united-kingdom) The national page, and the index of every UK page we publish. Start here ## Book a free first lesson Send a number and we will reply at a British hour you choose. The lesson uses real A-level material, at a keyboard, and finishes by naming the weakest of the three components. Prefer reading? Each [course page](/courses) publishes its syllabus, [how we teach](/how-we-teach) covers the method and its limits, and the [coding roadmap](/coding-roadmap) sets out the sequence. [WhatsApp us](https://wa.me/919123366161?text=Hello%20Modern%20Age%20Coders%2C%20I%20would%20like%20a%20free%20first%20class%20for%20AQA%20A-level%20Computer%20Science%207517.) · [+91 91233 66161](tel:+919123366161) · [contact@modernagecoders.com](mailto:contact@modernagecoders.com) WhatsApp is free from a British mobile and gets the fastest reply. The number is registered in India, which we say here rather than leave you to find. ## Keep exploring Modern Age Coders ### Related courses and guides - [App Development Course in the Netherlands](/app-development-course-netherlands) - [Astro Pi Mission Zero Help](/astro-pi-mission-zero-and-space-lab-help) - [App Development Course in Ireland](/app-development-course-ireland) - [Aura Type - Master Your Typing Flow](/aura) - [AP Computer Science Principles Online Coaching](/ap-computer-science-principles-online-coaching) - [Beat The Babu: The Fastest 90-Second Math Challenge Game](/beat-the-babu) - [Programming Languages, Frameworks and Tools to Learn in 2026](/coding-lang) - [Coding Alongside Informatica, Havo and Vwo](/coding-alongside-informatica-havo-vwo-netherlands) - [Oxford University Computing Challenge](/oxford-university-computing-challenge-preparation) ### Learn more - [Cambridge AS and A Level Computer Science 9618 Course](/courses/cambridge-a-level-computer-science-9618-course) - [IB DP Computer Science (New Guide, First Assessment 2027)](/courses/ib-diploma-computer-science-course) ### Free resources - [JavaScript Tutorial: Build Interactive Websites](/resources/javascript) - [CSS Transforms (2D and 3D)](/resources/html-and-css/transforms-2d-and-3d) - [CSS Animations with Keyframes](/resources/html-and-css/css-animations-and-keyframes) - [Creating and Removing DOM Elements](/resources/javascript/creating-and-removing-elements) ### From the blog - [Cambridge 9618 Paper 4: Python, Java or Visual Basic?](/blog/cambridge-9618-paper-4-python-java-or-visual-basic) - [How to Revise GCSE Computer Science (AQA and OCR)](/blog/how-to-revise-gcse-computer-science) - [The IB Computer Science IA No Longer Needs a Client](/blog/ib-computer-science-ia-client-rule-2027) ### Start here - [Book a free demo class with Modern Age Coders](/book-demo) - [Real projects built by Modern Age Coders students](/student-labs) --- *Canonical: https://learn.modernagecoders.com/aqa-a-level-computer-science-7517-help*