Cambridge OCR · RQF Level 3
OCR Level 3 National Certificate in ICT
You don’t just earn this. You learn to use it, one-to-one, on your own real work.
- LevelRQF Level 3
- Units in this qualification29
Awarded by Cambridge OCR · on the Ofqual register
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See how this course maps onto your role
Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this qualification rather than a generic one.
About 5 minutes · No card · Nothing to commit to
What you’ll learn
What each unit actually teaches you to do
This qualification is designed for individuals who want to develop their ICT skills as users of digital technology. The curriculum includes website security, digital business communication, advanced databases, and digital audio. Learners will gain skills in website security implementation, digital communication tool usage, and database design.
These are the units Cambridge OCR registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated, and every one you earn is yours to keep.
Advanced DatabasesReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand advanced database concepts, including different database models and their applications
- Design complex databases, considering factors such as data integrity, normalisation, and scalability
- Implement database security measures, including user authentication, access control, and data encryption
- Understand database optimisation techniques, such as indexing, query optimisation, and caching
- Know about data warehousing principles, including data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes
- Use advanced SQL queries, including subqueries, joins, and aggregate functions
Advanced SpreadsheetsReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Utilise advanced spreadsheet functions to manipulate and process data.
- Create and implement macros to automate spreadsheet tasks.
- Analyse data sets using spreadsheet software.
- Present data effectively using spreadsheets, including charts and graphs.
Art and Animation for Computer GamesReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the core art and animation principles specifically applicable to computer games
- Create art assets suitable for integration into computer games
- Animate assets for use within computer games
- Understand the overall computer games development process and the role of art and animation within it
CAD/CCAMReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand CAD/CCAM principles, including geometric modelling, toolpath generation, and CNC machining
- Create CAD models, using appropriate software and techniques
- Generate CCAM toolpaths, considering factors such as cutting speed, feed rate, and tool selection
- Use CAD/CCAM software, to design and manufacture parts
Career Planning for ICTReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand career opportunities in ICT, including different roles, industries, and pathways
- Assess own skills and interests, in relation to ICT careers
- Develop a career plan, including setting goals, identifying training needs, and creating a CV
- Search for ICT jobs, using online resources, networking, and recruitment agencies
Cartooning and AnimationReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of cartooning and animation techniques
- Design and create original cartoon characters with distinct personalities and visual styles
- Create animated sequences using appropriate animation principles and techniques
- Effectively use animation software to create, edit, and export animated content
Collaborative WorkingReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the core principles of collaborative working and its benefits
- Effectively contribute to collaborative activities and projects
- Communicate effectively with colleagues in a collaborative environment, both verbally and in writing
- Resolve conflicts constructively in collaborative situations, promoting positive working relationships
Computer Games ProductionReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the computer games production process, from concept to release
- Know the different roles within a games production team and their responsibilities
- Contribute effectively to games production activities, such as asset creation, programming, and testing
- Manage assets effectively in games production, including version control and organisation
- Understand the importance of quality assurance in games production and the methods used to ensure quality
Computer Games TechnologyReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the key concepts and terminology related to computer games technology
- Know the components of a computer games system, including hardware and software
- Use computer games development tools to create and modify game content
- Understand the principles of game design, including gameplay mechanics, level design, and user interface design
- Test computer games to identify and resolve bugs and issues
Creating a Digital ShowcaseReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the purpose of a digital showcase and its benefits for different audiences
- Plan a digital showcase, including defining objectives, target audience, and content strategy
- Create digital content for a showcase, using appropriate tools and techniques
- Present a digital showcase effectively, engaging the audience and achieving the desired outcomes
- Understand legal and ethical considerations related to digital content and online presentation
Databases for E-commerceReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand fundamental database concepts and their application to e-commerce systems
- Design effective and efficient databases for e-commerce applications
- Implement e-commerce databases using appropriate database management systems
- Query e-commerce databases to retrieve and manipulate data
- Understand database security principles and implement security measures to protect e-commerce data
Desk Top PublishingReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of desktop publishing
- Create documents effectively using DTP software
- Format text and images to a professional standard within DTP software
- Prepare documents for printing, ensuring correct settings and specifications
- Understand layout and design principles and apply them to DTP documents
Digital AudioReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand digital audio principles, including sampling, quantisation, and audio file formats
- Record and edit audio, using appropriate equipment and software
- Manipulate audio using software, including applying effects, mixing, and mastering
- Produce digital audio content, such as podcasts, music tracks, and sound effects
Digital Business CommunicationReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of effective digital communication, including audience analysis, message design, and channel selection
- Use a range of digital communication tools, such as email, social media, and video conferencing
- Create effective digital content, including text, images, and videos, that is engaging and informative
- Understand digital etiquette, including appropriate online behaviour and communication styles
- Know about digital marketing techniques, such as search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media marketing, and how to use them to promote a business or organisation
Digital Imaging and PhotographyReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand digital imaging principles, including resolution, colour depth, and file size
- Capture digital images using various devices and techniques
- Edit digital images using appropriate software and tools
- Manipulate digital photographs to enhance or alter their appearance
- Understand image file formats and their characteristics
Digital VideoReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the core principles of digital video technology.
- Plan a digital video project, including storyboarding and resource allocation.
- Capture digital video footage using appropriate equipment and techniques.
- Edit digital video using editing software to create a finished product.
- Export digital video in various formats for different platforms and purposes.
Hosting and Managing WebsitesReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand different website hosting options available to individuals and organisations
- Select a suitable hosting package based on specific requirements and constraints
- Manage a website control panel to configure and maintain website settings
- Upload website files to a web server using appropriate protocols
- Monitor website performance using available tools and techniques
Internet Past, Present and FutureReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the history of the internet, including its origins and evolution
- Know current internet technologies, including protocols, standards, and infrastructure
- Evaluate the impact of the internet on society, economy, and culture
- Analyse future internet trends, including emerging technologies and potential developments
- Understand internet governance, including policies, regulations, and organisations involved
Music TechnologyReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of music technology.
- Use music software for recording, editing, and mixing audio.
- Record audio using appropriate equipment and techniques.
- Edit audio to improve sound quality and create desired effects.
- Mix audio tracks to create a balanced and professional-sounding final product.
Problem SolvingReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand a range of problem-solving techniques and methodologies
- Identify and clearly define problems in a given context
- Generate a range of potential solutions to identified problems
- Evaluate potential solutions against defined criteria and select the most appropriate solution
- Implement the chosen solution and review its effectiveness
Producing a Business PlanReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the purpose and importance of a comprehensive business plan.
- Research a business idea to determine its viability and potential.
- Develop a marketing plan to promote a business and its products or services.
- Create financial projections to forecast revenue, expenses, and profitability.
- Write a clear and concise business plan that effectively communicates the business's goals and strategies.
Programming for Computer GamesReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand programming concepts for computer games, including game loops, event handling, and object-oriented programming
- Design game logic, including AI, player controls, and game rules
- Implement game mechanics, including movement, collision detection, and scoring
- Test and debug game code, using appropriate tools and techniques
Project ManagementReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand different project management methodologies and their application in various contexts
- Plan projects effectively, defining scope, objectives, and deliverables
- Manage project resources, including human resources, budget, and equipment
- Monitor project progress against the project plan, identifying and addressing deviations
- Evaluate project outcomes against the original objectives and success criteria
- Understand the principles and processes of risk management in project environments
Scripting and Coding for WebsitesReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of scripting and coding for websites
- Write scripts to enhance website functionality and user experience
- Code websites using appropriate languages and technologies
- Test and debug website code to ensure functionality and performance
- Understand website security considerations and implement measures to protect against vulnerabilities
Web AuthoringReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand web authoring principles, including design, usability, and accessibility
- Create web pages using appropriate tools and techniques
- Use HTML and CSS to structure and style web content
- Test and publish websites to ensure functionality and accessibility
- Understand website accessibility standards and guidelines
Website Security and RegulationsReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand common website security threats, including malware, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks
- Know about relevant data protection regulations, such as GDPR and the Data Protection Act, and their implications for website security
- Implement website security measures, such as strong passwords, encryption, and firewalls
- Understand common website vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting, and how to mitigate them
- Maintain website security, including regular security audits, software updates, and vulnerability scanning
Work Experience in ICTReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Prepare for work experience by researching the organisation and role
- Follow workplace procedures and policies in a professional manner
- Communicate effectively in the workplace with colleagues and clients
- Reflect on work experience to identify strengths and areas for improvement
- Understand employer expectations regarding punctuality, attendance, and behaviour
e-CommerceReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles underpinning e-commerce operations.
- Know and differentiate between various e-commerce business models.
- Set up a functional e-commerce platform.
- Effectively manage online transactions.
- Understand e-commerce security protocols and relevant legal requirements.
e-MarketingReal unit · Cambridge OCR
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of e-marketing and its role in business
- Know different e-marketing techniques, including search engine optimisation (SEO), social media marketing, and email marketing
- Plan an e-marketing campaign, including setting objectives, identifying target audiences, and selecting appropriate channels
- Use e-marketing tools to implement and monitor e-marketing campaigns
- Understand the legal and ethical considerations in e-marketing, including data protection and advertising standards
The honest bit
You’ve started things before
Most courses were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.
There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.
And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.
Your passport
Every credit is a stamp you keep
Level 3 credits are regulated. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you’ve earned and what’s next.
Each stamp is a real unit registered against this qualification.
Who’d teach you this
The Evidence Evaluator
Assessor
Helps you show what you can actually do, gathering the evidence that proves it as you learn.
Meet all twelve tutorsWhere this connects
Where these credits take you
A qualification is never a dead end here. See the jobs its credits open, the national occupational standards its units map to, and the future skills they quietly build.
- Create Digital Images
- Prepare for digital imaging
- Use programming languages to develop functionality of content for games and interactive media projects
Where this can lead
E-commerce Lawyer
Your journey starts here, but where it goes is really up to you. We provide the opportunities, the challenges, and the support; you bring the drive and the talent. We're excited to see what you'll achieve.
See the whole journey →Skills it covers
What the job actually needs. These are the standards the units are built against, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.
How you’ll actually learn this
One-to-one, on your own real work
A qualification is usually something done to you: sit the class, sit the exam, hope it sticks. Here it’s the opposite. You learn it one-to-one with a companion, on your own real work, and you keep going until you can use it, not just recall it.
Applied to your work in any of these jobs
This unit provides an understanding of advanced database concepts, including different database models, design principles, and optimisation techniques. Learners will develop skills to implement database security measures, use advanced SQL queries, and understand data warehousing.
- Remember
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyse
- Evaluate
- Create
Built for OCR Level 3 National Certificate in ICT
29 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by Cambridge OCR.
- Advanced Databases
- Advanced Spreadsheets
- Art and Animation for Computer Games
- CAD/CCAM
- Career Planning for ICT
- Cartooning and Animation
and 23 more in the full unit list below.
One to one, not one to many
No two people run this the same way
A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.
- Your actual work Every unit is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
- What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
- The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
- How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
- Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.
See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.
Why it sticks
Most courses stop at remembering
There’s a well-known ladder of how deeply you learn something, called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most courses get you up the first two rungs: you remember some facts, you pass a test, you forget it. Real skill lives at the top. Judging, deciding, creating. And this isn’t a generic ladder: every rung has a named Zavmo tutor who walks you up it.
- 6CreateThe Creative Catalyst
- 5EvaluateThe Evidence Evaluator
- 4AnalyseThe Analyst
- 3ApplyThe Coach
- 2UnderstandThe Connector
- 1RememberThe Builder
Where most courses leave you Where Zavmo takes you
The value
Why the companion is worth £70 a month
You’re not paying for the units. They’re regulated, and the same wherever you earn them. You’re paying for the one thing that decides whether you actually get there: a companion that makes them stick, on your real work.
That is one-to-one on this qualification, every day, on the work you already do, for £70 a month. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it. Billed monthly, cancel any time and billing stops.
Earned on your own work, taught to the top.
Everything you just read, learned one-to-one on the job you already do. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it.
Build my plan, freeNo card. See how this qualification maps onto your role and meet the tutors who’d teach it, free. The learning begins when you subscribe. It’s £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.