CCEA A-Level · Analysis & Prediction

2023 CCEA A-Level Digital Technology 2650 Past Paper: Analysis & Answers

The CCEA A2 1 Information Systems paper (June 2023) is a comprehensive 150-mark assessment spanning networking, relational databases, expert systems, speech recognition, cloud infrastructure, and computing legislation. Over half the paper focuses heavily on network architectures, media, protocols, and data integrity techniques. It demands rigorous technical terminology, step-by-step database normalisation, ER modelling, and extended evaluations assessed via Quality of Written Communication (QWC).

Updated: 31 Aug 2026

Analysis Sample paper

Difficulty 3.4/5

Total marks

150

Duration

150 mins

Most tested

Networks (Architecture, OSI Model, Transmission Media, and Protocols)

Paper breakdown

Assessment Unit A2 1: Information Systems (ADT11): 150 marks · 150 mins

Top chapters

Networks · 76 marksDatabases · 32 marksExpert systems · 12 marksCloud computing · 12 marksLegislation · 12 marksNatural language and voice recognition · 6 marks

Assessment Overview & Difficulty Verdict

The June 2023 CCEA GCE Digital Technology Unit A2 1 (ADT11) paper represents a standard yet rigorous A2 examination carrying a total of 150 marks across 2 hours and 30 minutes. The paper sits at a solid medium difficulty level (3.4/5). While knowledge recall questions provide an accessible baseline, top grades depend on precision in technical specifications (such as OSI layer mechanisms, CRC calculations, and SQL command structures) and structural clarity in three dedicated 6-mark extended responses assessed for Quality of Written Communication (QWC).

Where the Marks Are Distributed

The examination is dominated by core foundational units:

Networks (76 marks / ~51%): Questions 1, 2, and 3 test everything from network hardware and transmission media to OSI model sets, layer functionality, protocols (Ethernet IEEE 802.3, VoIP), and error detection systems (parity bits and cyclic redundancy checks).
Databases & SQL (32 marks / ~21%): Question 4 and Question 5(a) test relational theory through normalisation (Unnormalised to 3NF), Entity Relationship diagramming, referential integrity definitions, and DDL/DML SQL comprehension (CREATE TABLE, INSERT, SELECT).
Advanced Computing Paradigms & Legislation (42 marks / ~28%): Split evenly across Expert Systems (12 marks), Cloud Computing (12 marks), Legislation (12 marks), and Voice Recognition (6 marks).

Key Pitfalls and Marking Vulnerabilities

Examiner expectations highlight several high-risk areas:

Normalisation Underlining: Failing to clearly underline Primary Keys and denote Foreign Keys during the progressive 1NF \(\rightarrow\) 2NF \(\rightarrow\) 3NF stages directly costs multiple marks.
Vague Network Protocol Descriptions: Stating that a protocol is merely 'a way computers talk' rather than specifying 'a set of rules/standards that allow devices with different hardware/software to communicate'.
Incomplete QWC Evaluations: In 6-mark evaluative questions (e.g., comparing Star vs Ring topologies or Metal Cable vs Wireless security), answers lacking explicit comparative justification and balanced trade-offs fail to reach Band 2 (5-6 marks).

Revision Strategy & Predictions

Master standard textbook definitions verbatim for technical concepts like CRC, Broadband vs Bandwidth, and Hosted Instances. Practise end-to-end table normalisation and ER cardinality notations under timed conditions. Topics such as Robotics, Artificial Intelligence search algorithms, Data Mining, and Mobile Technologies were unexamined or underrepresented in this series and are prime candidates for future papers.

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Charts

Marks by chapter

See where the marks were concentrated so revision time goes to the highest-value topics.

Question type mix

Compare the mark share of each paper section and question type.

Short Answer / Identification21 marks · 9 questions
Structured Technical Description80 marks · 17 questions
Database Normalisation & ER Modelling18 marks · 5 questions
SQL Interpretation10 marks · 4 questions
Extended Response / Evaluation (QWC)18 marks · 3 questions
Fill in the blanks / Definition7 marks · 2 questions

Mark accessibility

Estimate which marks were basic, mid-level, or high-difficulty.

80%within easy or medium reach

easy: 48 marksmedium: 72 markshard: 30 marks

Command word frequency

Spot common command words so answers match the expected response style.

Skill weighting

Shows the skill mix this paper tested most heavily.

Study ROI

Bigger bubbles recur more often; higher bubbles carry more marks, helping you rank revision priorities.

Database Normalisation & ER Diagrams

18 marks · Difficulty 2.8 · recurrence 5%

SQL Syntax & Query Purpose

10 marks · Difficulty 2.2 · recurrence 5%

Legislation (CMA 1990 & DPA / GDPR)

12 marks · Difficulty 2.4 · recurrence 5%

Network Hardware & Topologies

25 marks · Difficulty 2.6 · recurrence 5%

OSI 7-Layer Model & Protocols

27 marks · Difficulty 3.7 · recurrence 5%

Error Detection (Parity & CRC)

9 marks · Difficulty 3.6 · recurrence 4%

Cloud Computing Infrastructure

12 marks · Difficulty 3.2 · recurrence 4%

Time vs marks

Compare marks with suggested time allocation to plan exam pacing.

marksmins

Next-year prediction

Topics worth watching next year, with the reason shown directly below each bar.

Robotics (Components, End Effectors, Sensors & Uses)90%

Robotics was completely absent in this paper despite being a major syllabus section in A2 1 Information Systems.

Artificial Intelligence (Neural Networks & Search Techniques)85%

Only touched lightly under voice recognition in 2023; comprehensive AI questions on reasoning, search algorithms, or machine learning are highly overdue.

Data Mining & Big Data Analytics80%

Data mining concepts, data warehousing, and predictive analytics did not feature in the 2023 sitting.

Mobile Technologies & Wireless Protocols (5G, RFID, NFC)75%

Wireless media was examined generally, but specific mobile communication standards (4G/5G, NFC, Bluetooth protocols) are expected to feature prominently.

Cumulative marks ladder

The line is your running mark total question by question; dashed lines are the estimated grade cut-offs. See which question the line crosses your target grade at, so you know how far you must answer cleanly and which questions decide a band.

Examiner insights

AI-inferred

Common pitfalls

Confusing broadband with bandwidth by simply writing 'fast internet' instead of defining bandwidth as channel frequency/data capacity and broadband as wide bandwidth multiplexed transmission.
Omitting the mechanical steps of CRC error detection (e.g. failing to mention polynomial/fixed number division, generating a remainder as checksum, and recalculation at destination).
Failing to underline primary keys or identify foreign keys when writing relation structures during 1NF, 2NF, and 3NF normalisation.
Writing general ethical opinions in legislation questions rather than naming specific statutory offences under the Computer Misuse Act (Sections 1, 2, and 3) and data protection principles.

Misconceptions

Believing a switched hub broadcasts data packets to all ports simultaneously like a passive hub, rather than reading MAC/IP addresses and forwarding solely to the intended recipient node.
Assuming parity bits can correct multiple corrupted bits rather than merely detecting single (or odd numbers of) bit inversions.
Thinking heuristic knowledge in expert systems is exact logical truth rather than rule-of-thumb intuition derived from expert experience.

Where marks are lost

Losing marks on 6-mark QWC questions by omitting comparative evaluations or failing to structure responses with technical vocabulary and clear paragraphing.
Incomplete descriptions of OSI layer responsibilities (e.g. not mentioning packet sequencing, route diversity, and reassembly at the Transport layer).
Diagrammatic errors in ER models, particularly improper crow's foot notation or drawing direct Many-to-Many relationships instead of resolving them through an associative junction entity.

Estimated grade boundary

Updated: 31 Aug 2026

Source: CCEA

Grade	Mark	Percentage
A*	—	90%
A	—	80%
B	—	70%
C	—	60%
D	—	50%
E	—	40%

Official grade boundaries published by CCEA.

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