Computing lessons every pupil can get into
Swainware is two tools in one: a computing curriculum for Key Stage 3, growing into Key Stage 4, and a GCSE Computer Science revision tool. Accessibility, instant feedback and progress tracking are built into everything.
Have a go: you're a computer
Computers store everything as bits that are on (1) or off (0). Switch some on.
Every lesson follows the same routine
Pupils always know what comes next, which frees them to think about the computing. The teacher moves the class on with a short code.
Do Now
A quick quiz while the register is taken.
Retrieval
Questions on earlier lessons, ready for cold calling.
Learn
Short explanations with hands-on tools: bit switches, cipher wheels, SQL detectives.
Teacher modelling
"I do, we do" examples with answers to reveal.
Practice
Levels that unlock once a pupil gets 8 of their last 10 right.
Play
A game that keeps the topic going, from tycoons to packet routing.
See it for yourself. Take a guided tour of a real lesson, Binary Conversions, from the Do Now right through to the New Forest Tycoon game. No login needed.
Built for every pupil
Support is switched on by the pupil, on any page, without having to ask. It's the same menu in every lesson.
Try two of them on this page:
- Dyslexia-friendly fontOpenDyslexic, available in every lesson and game.
- Colour-blind paletteRight and wrong never rely on red and green alone.
- Reading ruler and focus modeKeep your place in a paragraph, and fade out everything else.
- Reduced sensory modeTurns off confetti and animation.
- Text size and light or dark modeRemembered from one lesson to the next.
- Hand up and check-inAsk for help quietly, or tell the teacher how you're feeling with one tap.
Assessment that marks itself
Practice questions give feedback straight away and explain the right answer. Many are freshly generated each time, so they can't be learnt by heart.
- Mastery levelsEach level unlocks the next once a pupil is getting it right, ending with an endless boss level.
- Second chancesA question answered wrongly comes back a few questions later, so mistakes get fixed.
- More than multiple choiceSortOrderMatchFill the gapsSpot the bugAnswer and reasonTick allClick the bits
- Real Python in the browserFour Python Pal units with 100 challenges each, checked as pupils type.
Three courses, start to finish
From staying safe online to SQL and machine learning. Pitched at Key Stage 3 and growing into Key Stage 4.
CS Fundamentals 1
- Online Safety
- Computer Systems
- Flowcharts & Computational Thinking
- Python Turtle
- Python Pal: Variables
- Binary Conversions
- Text & Character Sets
- Images in Binary
- Historical Ciphers
CS Fundamentals 2
- Networks
- Binary Conversions Revisited
- Hexadecimal
- Binary Addition
- Compression
- Logic Gates
- Algorithms
- Python Pal: Selection & Logic
- Python Pal: Count-Controlled Loops
- Python Pal: Condition-Controlled Loops
- Cyber Attacks
CS Fundamentals 3
- SQL Detective
- AI & Machine Learning
- Ethics, Law & Environment
Plus a free Python scratchpad and a Silent Reading library with interactive stories and classic books.
Revision that sticks
For GCSE Computer Science (OCR J277): every topic on the specification, Paper 1 and Paper 2.
- Daily Practice10 questions a day, picked for each pupil: their weakest topics, something new, and checks on what they've already mastered.
- Locks in what they knowA topic becomes secure after consistent right answers on different days. It's checked again after a week, then a month, then 2 months, just before it would be forgotten.
- Exam-style questions with mark schemesModelled on the real exams, with the answers examiners don't accept, command-word tips, and long answers sent to the teacher to mark.
- Learns from mistakesA wrong answer explains the misconception behind it, and the question comes back on another day.
- Paper 2 skillsInteractive trace tables and truth tables, plus code answers that run as Python.
📊 My progress (example)
Teachers see the whole class as a heatmap of every spec point.
For teachers
Create a class, hand out code slips, and see every pupil's progress in one grid.
| Pupil | Networks | Hex | Addition |
|---|---|---|---|
| K4PZ | 92% L5/6 | 85% L6/7 | 71% L3/8 |
| Q7MD | 64% L3/6 | 41% L2/7 | – |
| X2HT | 88% L6/6 | 77% L4/7 | 90% L5/8 |
- Progress across every lessonAccuracy and the level each pupil has reached, with a class average and a CSV download.
- No pupil names onlinePupils log in with a class code and a short pupil code. Their work saves automatically and follows them to any computer.
- Teacher modelling for every lessonReady-made worked examples to talk through with the class.
- You set the paceEach part of the lesson opens with a code from you, or run a live lesson and move the whole class on with one button.
- Your whole departmentTeacher accounts with their own classes, and heads of department who can see everything and approve changes.