Edexcel IAL Computer Science – U1.18 Character encoding – Lesson & Worksheet

Bespoke, fully editable lesson for Pearson Edexcel International A Level Computer Science (2026): U1.18 Character encoding. Slides, worksheet and full answers.

Written for Unit 1 Principles of Computer Science, topic 2 Data representation (specification 2.3.1). 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

U1.18 Character encoding

By the end of the lesson students can:

• Describe how ASCII, extended ASCII, Unicode and UTF-8 store characters as binary
• Explain why Unicode was needed and how UTF-8 stays compatible with ASCII
• Compare the benefits and drawbacks of each and work out text storage sizes

Worksheet sections: A. Key words; B. ASCII codes; C. Storage sizes; 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.