Edexcel IAL Computer Science – U1.32 Recursion – Lesson & Worksheet

Bespoke, fully editable lesson for Pearson Edexcel International A Level Computer Science (2026): U1.32 Recursion. Slides, worksheet and full answers.

Written for Unit 1 Principles of Computer Science, topic 5 Problem solving (specification 5.1.3). Everything is editable, so you can adapt it to your class.

What’s included

• PowerPoint lesson (15 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

U1.32 Recursion

By the end of the lesson students can:

• Define recursion, the base case and the general case
• Hand-trace a recursive algorithm, showing each call and each return
• Explain how the call stack makes recursion work, and what happens when it fails

Worksheet sections: A. Key words; B. Trace the calls; C. Predict the output; 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.