Bubble sort and insertion sort – Edexcel IAL Computer Science

Bubble sort and insertion sort lesson for Pearson Edexcel International A Level Computer Science, with editable PowerPoint slides, a student worksheet and full answers. Bubble sort swaps neighbouring items and insertion sort places each item in position; students trace both and compare them.

Written for Unit 1 Principles of Computer Science, topic 5 Problem solving (specification 5.2.3, 5.2.4). Everything is editable, so you can adapt it to your class.

What’s included

• PowerPoint lesson (16 slides) with teacher notes on every slide
• Student worksheet (Word), ready to print or edit
• Answer sheet (Word) with mark-scheme style answers for every question

U1.34 Bubble sort and insertion sort

By the end of the lesson students can:

• Hand-trace a bubble sort, pass by pass, including the early stop
• Hand-trace an insertion sort, one insertion at a time
• Compare the two sorts and explain when each does well

Worksheet sections: A. Recall; B. Bubble sort; C. Insertion sort; D. Exam-style questions; E. Challenge

Every lesson includes

• Learning goals and a starter question
• Clear explanations, diagrams and worked examples (Python 3 throughout, as the specification requires)
• A quick check and a “your turn” task linked to the worksheet
• Exam-style questions with marks, and an exit ticket

Format

• PowerPoint (.pptx) and Word (.docx), fully editable
• Works in PowerPoint and Google Slides
• Calm, muted sixth-form design, consistent across the whole course

These are independent resources written for the Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level Computer Science specification (Issue 1, first teaching 2026; IAS XCP01, IAL YCP01). They are not produced or endorsed by Pearson.

More lessons in this series

• Previous lesson: Linear and binary search – Edexcel IAL Computer Science lesson
• Next lesson: Boolean expressions – Edexcel IAL Computer Science lesson
• Save with the bundle: Problem solving – Edexcel IAL Computer Science (8 lessons)

Last updated: November 2026.