If you're looking for a bit of a change this coming year, I've linked pages to the specification. You don't need to use it all, just bits that you think might enhance understanding. It's all I use for GCSE, apart from past paper questions. www.advanced-ict.info/theory/GCSE/...

Resources for teaching OCR J277 content

Resources from this site mapped to the OCR J277 specification

advanced-ict.info

How do flies breed when you only get one at a time? Does it have secret, night-time liaisons with your neighbour's fly?

I often see these stories and notice slight fluctuations, but presumably a lot of web traffic is seasonal anyway? Impressions are up quite a bit for my site, but it's the end of the school holidays. searchengineland.com/google-augus...

Google's August 2026 spam update hit rankings harder than normal

Google's spam update caused exceptional search disruption, with dramatic ranking losses across 20 industries, according to SE Ranking data.

searchengineland.com

Isn't this just how dating apps, Netflix and Spotify work? #TeamCompSci www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Would you pay for an algorithm to pick your friends? New social apps spread across cities

With many adults admitting they feel lonely, meetup platforms offer the chance to make new connections

theguardian.com

I usually start the year with representation. Everything inside the computer is stored using numbers, so what is it about that thing that we can measure or count? And why is it useful to know that? #TeamCompSci www.advanced-ict.info/home/represe...

Representation of Data: Index

Learn about how different types of data are represented inside a computer.

advanced-ict.info

Even things that you'd expect to be getting better are getting worse. I'm looking at budget CD players - the most affordable ones use CD-ROM drives and don't support gapless playback, and the tier above that, with proper red-book drives, no longer have things like track programming and shuffle.

Could students see the Computer Science link here? #TeamCompSci spacedaily.com/m-start-with...

Start with one grain of rice on the first square of a chessboard and double it on every square, and the 64th square alone would hold more than 9.2 quintillion grains — with more than 18.4 quintillion ...

Exponential growth seems harmless until you're obligated to deliver more grain than exists on Earth.

spacedaily.com

This sounds more like human error to me - unless they've done something strange like using a combination of surname and date of birth as a primary key, rather than something unique, such as National Insurance number. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Woman stranded in Spain after UK’s eVisa system mistakes her for twin sister

Nidia Webb, who is legally settled in UK, falls foul of ‘known issue’ with Home Office’s digitised immigration process

theguardian.com

If you use a LLM to produce text, it's not your words - "the widespread adoption of large language models (LLMs) as writing assistants is linked to declines in linguistic diversity, interfering with the societal and psychological insights language provides". www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The shrinking landscape of linguistic diversity in the age of large language models - Nature Human Behaviour

Sourati et al. find that variance in writing complexity dropped on social media, news and scientific writing after ChatGPT’s release, a shift from individuality towards uniformity. LLM polishing strip...

nature.com

Without "AI", a complaint might be "one side of A4 about your bins not being emptied.", but when "AI" gets involved it "could be between 19 and 27 pages, include case law, and quote various Acts of Parliament." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

AI flooding public bodies with complaints and requests

AI flooding public bodies with complaints and requests

bbc.co.uk

Hmm... my guess is that none of your favourite artists has an A level in music. I suspect that most of my favourites were self-taught and therefore have quirky and distinctive styles. www.lbc.co.uk/article/uk-m...

UK faces losing its 'next Sam Fender': Gareth Malone says as A-level entries for music falls to record low | LBC

The choirmaster and Classic FM presenter described the situation as a "crisis" for the industry

lbc.co.uk

I've just noticed that Red Box released a new single last week! Other streaming services are available. open.qobuz.com/album/acpg99...

I've just been in a sports shop. I think I'm going to have to watch a woman answering questions on TfL seat covers (whilst wearing a jumper that matches one) to make up for it.

This is interesting - they've now added YouTube channels to Google Search Console. The origin of the visitors is very different from the website, where about two-thirds of the referrals from Google come from the UK.

What would be the computing equivalent? What is a bit? What is a truth value? #TeamCompSci

Michelle Goff@mideco-2883.bsky.social · 6d ago

As the new school year approaches, I’ve been thinking about how we start Year 7 maths lessons. In my latest blog post, I look at an idea for starting with zero and what that might offer pupils as they start secondary maths. michellesteachinginsights.blog/2026/08/23/s... #UKMathsChat #edusky #UKEd

The thing that surprised me when driving abroad is how many British cars didn't have UK number plates or stickers. If people couldn't be bothered to spend £1 on a sticker, did they bother to register to comply with emissions regulations, adjust their headlights, etc?

What makes something a souvenir? Is it a souvenir if you don't buy it in the place that you're reminded of, e.g. if you see something you like but buy it when you get home so you don't need to pack it and transport it back?

Back to computing news... #TeamCompSci www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Proposed London datacentre ‘incompatible’ with net zero with 1m-tonne carbon footprint

Exclusive: Planning documents show annual emissions from North Ockendon project would be equivalent to 8,480 flights to New York

theguardian.com

In France they have baguette vending machines (presumably for a bread-related emergency when the boulangerie is closed), but in Germany we saw a sausage vending machine. I was driving, though, so couldn't take a picture.

My car warns me that I should take a break. We live in Warwickshire, and if we're going to, say, Manchester, it can do it as soon as getting just past Birmingham, but this month I've driven Germany and back and it hasn't done it once. I wonder if they forgot to recalibrate for driving on the left?

Last night we stayed in a hotel that had pictures of motorways on the corridor walls.

In the olden days the occasional joke from these lists used to make me smile. Our family favourite was "I bought a dog from a blacksmith, and when I got him home he made a bolt for the door." I can't imagine telling any of these in ten years' time. www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/a...

Magicians and margarine: 10 of the funniest jokes from the Edinburgh fringe 2026

Every year, hundreds of standups from across the world descend on the venerable festival. Here are some of their finest one-liners

theguardian.com

I'm not really one for souvenirs, but I couldn't resist this beauty for €0.75.

Luckily I very rarely listen to music using my phone, and literally never in the car. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Top album releases linked to rise in fatal crashes as ‘distracted’ drivers access music

Harvard study finds traffic fatalities increase by 15% on release dates compared with similar days either side

theguardian.com

As we approach #ScrollFreeSeptember... #TeamCompSci www.theguardian.com/news/2026/au...

Democracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored

The long read: Many hoped that the march of technology would usher in a utopia – but some foresaw the threat it would pose to liberal society. Why did nobody listen?

theguardian.com

I did a comparison with CDs - even only looking at equipment in the house, CD playback used less electricity than streaming. www.whathifi.com/hi-fi/turnta...

Good news! Vinyl is more environmentally friendly than music streaming, provided you do it right...

Another benefit to vinyl.

whathifi.com

One of the joys of going abroad is the foreign supermarket. Today I had my first lime yogurt.

It looks like some rain has been forecast and website traffic is starting to rise, so it looks like we might be getting towards the end of summer.

The (German) guide at the East/West border museum just told me that it's a shame that Nigel Farage was re-elected instead of "a more humorous candidate"!