Computing: Application Development AAQ course

Application Development

Alternative Academic Qualification Cambridge Advanced National in Computing

The government is phasing out certain vocational qualifications and replacing them with Alternative Academic Qualifications (AA!’s) from July 2025

This new course is a Level 3 AAQ Cambridge Advanced National in Computing, a two year course that is equivalent to one A-Level. 

The Qualification will allow you to develop your knowledge and skills within the field of Computing. You will learn about the different stages that developers go through to produce working solutions to real world problems.

As part of the course you will explore the principles of User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) design, and learn how to develop solutions which meet specific requirements, alongside gaining experience of the design processes used to create graphical representations.

This two year course will contain five units. Two are assessed by exams, and the other three are assessed by externally set assignments, which are marked internally.

Overall there are three mandatory units and two optional units. The mandatory units are Fundamentals of Application Development, Developing Application Software, and Designing and Communicating UX/UI Solutions. 

This qualification will allow you to progress in Higher Education in a Computing -based subject or a range of non-Computing-based subject areas.

Assessment (Exam Board – OCR)
The two externally assessed units make up 40% of the overall final grade. The three non-examined units make up 60% of the final grade

Mandatory Units

Unit F160 Fundamentals of application development

  • 1 hour 15 minutes written paper
  • 60 marks
  • Comprises of short answer and extended response questions


Unit F161 Developing application software

  • 1 hour 15 minutes written paper
  • 60 marks
  • Comprises short answer and extended response questions in relation to a single theme throughout the exam paper

Unit F162 Planning the UX/UI solution

  • Non-examined unit assessed internally
  • 15 hours of supervised time to create a response to an OCR set assignment
  • Graded as a Pass, Merit or Distinction based on grading criteria.


Two further optional project units
Each unit has 5 taught topic areas and 24 assessment criteria; however not all assessment criteria need to be met at Pass, Merit and Distinction to complete the unit.

Entry Requirements:
To study this course students would normally be expected to achieve:

7 Higher Grades including

  • Grade 5 (or above) for English and Maths
  • Grade 5 (or above) for other GCSE subjects
  • 1 BTEC (or equivalent) at Merit or above may be included within these 7 grades

 

Samantha Pascoe
Head of Digital Futures and Head of Computer Science
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Computing Subject Information 2026