National 5 Computing Science is split into four units. Every lesson on this website belongs to one unit:
Assessment
| Component | Format | Marks | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question paper | 1 hr 30 min, SQA exam hall | 80 | Section 1 (55 marks): SDD + CS — everyone answers. Section 2 or 3 (25 marks): DDD or WDD — you choose one. |
| Assignment | 6 hours, open book, school supervised (after February half-term) | 40 | Task 1 (25 marks): SDD — everyone does this. Task 2 or 3 (15 marks): DDD or WDD — you choose one. |
| Total | 120 | Your teacher will advise which optional section to choose closer to the time. |
You will use three different places to store your work. Each has a specific job. Getting this right from the start will save you a lot of confusion.
H drive (local, this computer only)
Your working files — files you are actively editing during a lesson. These only exist on this computer.
OneDrive (cloud, any device)
Your saved documents — PDF exports of every completed lesson. Backed up, accessible anywhere.
OneNote Class Notebook (your revision resource)
Your annotated lesson notes — PDFs inserted as printouts, with your handwritten or typed annotations on top. This is what you revise from and refer to during the assignment.
The H drive is for files you are actively editing during class: database files, code files, and web project files. Set up this structure once, today.
Open File Explorer and navigate to the H drive
- a
Click the yellow folder icon on your taskbar (bottom of screen). This opens File Explorer.
- b
In the left panel, look under This PC for a drive labelled H: or Home (H:). Click it.
Create the folder structure
Create the following structure. Right-click on empty space → New > Folder for each one:
What goes in each H drive folder
- Software Design and Development — any code files you write or save during SDD lessons (e.g.
task1.py,algorithm.txt). - Databases — the
.dbdatabase file you create in DB Browser when you import a.sqlfile. For example:films.db. You need this file to run SQL queries — keep it here so you can find it next lesson. - Web Design and Development — your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files for web projects. Keep each project in its own subfolder, e.g.
Web Design and Development > Project1 > index.html.
OneDrive is where all completed lesson PDFs go. It is linked to your school Microsoft 365 account, so your files are backed up and available on any device. Create a mirrored folder structure, identical to the H drive but with all four units.
Find OneDrive in File Explorer
- a
Open File Explorer. In the left panel, look for an entry labelled OneDrive — City of Edinburgh Council. Click it.
- b
Don't see it? Click Start and type OneDrive. Open the OneDrive app and sign in with your school Microsoft 365 email and password. Once signed in, OneDrive will appear automatically in File Explorer.
Create the folder structure on OneDrive
Inside your school OneDrive, create the same structure as the H drive — but include all four units, since every lesson generates a PDF regardless of unit:
Your teacher has created a Class Notebook for this course. You don't create it — it already exists and you have been added to it automatically. You just need to find it and open it in the desktop app.
Find the Class Notebook through Microsoft Teams
- a
Open Microsoft Teams. Sign in with your school Microsoft 365 account if prompted.
- b
In the left panel, click Teams. Find your N5 Computing Science class team and click it.
- c
Look along the tab bar at the top of the channel for a tab called Class Notebook. Click it.
- d
The notebook will open inside Teams. It works here, but it is much easier to use in the full OneNote desktop app — continue to Step 2.
Open it in the OneNote desktop app
- a
With the Class Notebook open in Teams, look for a button that says "Open in desktop app" or "Open in OneNote" — it is usually near the top-right of the Teams window.
- b
Click it. Windows may ask you to confirm — click Open or Yes.
- c
OneNote opens. Your Class Notebook now appears in the notebook list on the left. From now on, you can open it directly from OneNote without going through Teams.
Find your personal section and set up your pages
Inside the Class Notebook, there is a private area that only you and your teacher can see — this is where your work goes.
Option A — sections pre-created by teacher: If you have set up unit sections already (Computer Systems, Software Design and Development, Databases, Web Design and Development), tell pupils to skip the section-creation steps below and go straight to adding pages.
Option B — pupils create their own sections: Direct pupils to follow the steps below to create unit sections inside their personal space.
If you need to create your own sections, do this inside your personal area of the Class Notebook:
- a
Right-click in the sections panel and choose New Section (or click the + next to existing section tabs).
- b
Create five sections, named exactly:
Course Admin·Computer Systems·Software Design and Development·Databases·Web Design and Development - c
Right-click each section tab and choose Section Colour to colour-code them — grey for Course Admin, green for CS, purple for SDD, orange for Databases, blue for Web Design. This matches the colours on this website.
Follow these same steps every time you complete a lesson. It takes about two minutes and builds your revision resource automatically.
Two ways to save — choose the one that suits you. Method A is the fastest; use Method B when you also want a PDF backup on OneDrive.
Print directly to OneNote quickest
- 1
Scroll to the bottom of the lesson and click Export / Save to OneNote. The Windows Print dialog opens.
- 2
Click the Printer dropdown and select Send to OneNote (may also appear as OneNote (Desktop)).
- 3
Click Print. A Select Location in OneNote dialog opens. Expand your Class Notebook and click the correct section (e.g. Databases).
- 4
Click OK. OneNote inserts the lesson as a printout on a new page. Click the page title and rename it to match the lesson code, e.g.
DDD1 — Database Concepts.
Save PDF to OneDrive, then insert into OneNote keeps a backup
- 1
Scroll to the bottom of the lesson and click Export / Save to OneNote. The Windows Print dialog opens.
- 2
Click the Printer dropdown and select Microsoft Print to PDF. Click Print. A Save As dialog opens.
- 3
Navigate to: OneDrive — [school name] › N5 Computing Science › [correct unit folder].
- 4
Name the file using the lesson code: e.g.
DDD1 Database Concepts. Click Save.
- 5
Switch to OneNote. Click the correct unit section, then click + Page and type the lesson name, e.g.
DDD1 — Database Concepts. - 6
Click the Insert tab in the ribbon, then click File Printout.
- 7
Navigate to OneDrive › N5 Computing Science › [unit folder] and double-click the PDF. OneNote renders every page visibly so you can annotate directly.
Export the lesson as a PDF
- a
Tap Export / Save to OneNote at the bottom of the lesson. The iPadOS Print panel opens.
- b
Pinch outward on the small page preview in the Print panel — it expands into a full-screen PDF view.
- c
Tap the Share button (box with arrow) that appears at the top-right.
- d
Tap Save to Files. Navigate to OneDrive > N5 Computing Science > [unit folder]. Name it (e.g.
DDD1 Database Concepts) and tap Save.
Add to your Class Notebook
- a
Open OneNote. Navigate to the correct section (e.g. Databases) and tap + to add a new page. Give it the lesson name.
- b
Tap the Insert menu (or the + in the editing toolbar). Tap Files or File Printout.
- c
Navigate to the PDF on OneDrive and tap it to insert.
| What | Name it like this | Saved where |
|---|---|---|
| PDF of a completed lesson | DDD1 Database Concepts.pdf | OneDrive › N5 Computing Science › Databases |
| OneNote page title | DDD1 — Database Concepts | Databases section of Class Notebook |
| Database file (.db) from DB Browser | films.db | H drive › N5 Computing Science › Databases |
| Web project folder | WDD3 My Website | H drive › N5 Computing Science › Web Design and Development |
| Code file from SDD lessons | SDD5 variables.py | H drive › N5 Computing Science › Software Design and Development |