2,337 Replies to “What is IGCSE?”

  1. Hi,

    My son Vedaang is studying in Grade 1 and his age was 5 yrs and 8 months as on 30 just July 2019 (DOB 19th Nov 2013).
    In Grade 10 he will be 14yrs and 8 months old, so wanted to check whether he would be eligible for appearing exam in Grade 10?
    What is the minimum age criteria for appearing for Grade 10
    Thanks
    Kailash

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Kailash,

      The minimum age to sit in for IGCSE exams is 14 years old. As such, when your your son is in Grade 10 and ready to sit in for his exams, he is eligible to register for his IGCSE exams.

      Reply ↓

  2. Dear IGCSE Support team,
    I have 2 sons aged 9 and 10 years respectively.
    We are currently living in South Africa but undecided about possibly moving to India to a school which teaches the Cambridge syllabus. If we do relocate, we will proceed through the school’s subject choices, but if we do not, then we will have to prepare the boys at home privately back in South Africa for eventually sitting for IGCSE exams.
    My questions in this connections:

    1. Please suggest on a syllabus to use most suitable to leading up to IGCSE. They are currently using the CAPSE syllabus (the South African National syllabous) for Maths, English and Science only. We study Maths and English , and we download local papers for them to write yearly exams at home. We are prepared to abandon the current program to find a more suitable syllabus which will lead up to IGCSE. Kindly advise us with the most appropriate route to take where study material and exam papers can be easily available on-line which will specifically lead up to IGCSE for their later years, catering to the most relevant core subjects of IGCSE.

    2. Since the boys are still relatively young, it is difficult to decide privately what subjects to select for their studies, since their aptitudes are not yet absolutely clear to us. How should we go about making a selection of subject choices? I understand Maths and English are compulsory, but sciences may be from various sciences. Both boys are strongly inclined towards music, having acquired genes from me their father so that they are highly inclined to pitch and rhythm. They study piano and vocals informally with me, but we have found that music may not be a lucritive career, as it does not belong to a major “needs” industry but a secondary entertainment luxury service.

    With the above details in mind, is there a syllabus program that leads them up to a point in their lives when they will be ready for studying for the core IGCSE exams, in a most general way, so that they can each then decide the route they wish to take for themselves when they are old enough?

    Thank you kindly for considering my questions.

    Kind regards,
    Yogan

    Reply ↓

    • Hello Yogan,

      Thank you for writing in.

      Please find our suggestions below:

      1. You may find all the relevant and IGCSE exam resources on our site.
      For IGCSE syllabi, please download here: https://www.igcsecentre.com/cambridge-igcse-subjects-syllabuses/
      For IGCSE past exam papers, please download here: https://www.igcsecentre.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/
      Here are our worldwide renown A* courses which you may consider enrolling: https://www.igcsecentre.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/
      To know and understand what is an A* answer like, please get the model answers here: https://www.igcsecentre.com/igcse-exam-resources/

      By following the homeschooling route, this article would help in your planning: https://www.igcsecentre.com/what-is-homeschooling/

      2. Choosing the exam subjects might be a little early at this age. We would suggest to go for the compulsory subjects, as mentioned in the article above. Science and art subjects are taught in school for primary level. You may follow the school’s primary level teaching materials. In this way, your boys have ample of time to decide at a later stage. IGCSE does offer Music subjects if your sons are going that route.

      We hope these help. Please feel free to drop us a line if you need further assistance.

      Reply ↓

      • Dear IGCSE team,

        Thanks for your kind advice and for the clear and intuitive layout of your content on the site, as well as your prompt and personalized replies to queries.

        From what I have understood from my reading on the site, the entire IGCSE course is necessarily a maximum of 2 years to complete, approximately as the equivalent of grades 10 and 11. If I have understood this correctly, then:

        1. Are there any formal processes put in place by the IGCSE board to ensure that students cannot sit for IGCSE studies for anything much more than 2 years? I’m just considering the possibility of starting out with actual IGCSE content at an earlier age (10 and 11 years old), and bridging any knowledge gaps as we go along, until they are actually ready, even if this takes a few years to write the exams. What is the formal requirement on this, and what is your practical suggestions beyond the formal requirement? Please can you write on both. Thanks.

        2. Does a home schooling parent have to formerly enroll a child into the IGCSE program as a whole or per subject to get started with the studies, in order to eventually be permitted to sit for the IGCSE exam for a particular subject, or can they simply download the course material for a subject and take as many months/years as they need to, working through past year papers Etc, until the home-schooling parent feels the child is ready to write the exam for that subject?

        3. Is there a minimum number of IGCSE subjects that a student can write in a single year?

        4. In the case of a second language (we wish to move to India so would like the children to start learning Hindi from scratch), does the IGCSE course assume any prior experience with that language, or does the syllabus teach the basics of the language from scratch: elementary diction, pronunciation, grammer, Etc?

        Thanks kindly.

        Yogan

        Reply ↓

        • Hello Yogan,

          Thank you for your kind words. Here are our suggestions:

          1. The whole IGCSE syllabus takes approximately 1-2 years to finish but there is no hard rule that candidates must study IGCSE for a two year period. The 2 year period is usually for schooled students, following schools calendar plus holidays etc. As a private candidate, you may judge your readiness to sit for the exams independently. The only formal requirement is candidates must be at least aged 14 to sit for the exams. However, we have also experienced some countries do accept private candidates registration below age 14. You have to check with your local British Council for this. Practically, starting IGCSE content at such a young age might put strain and stress on the kids. This is due to missing a big gap of required basic knowledge prior to the IGCSE content. We would suggest you to give a Primary 6 (Year 6) test and a Year 9 test to both your sons to assess their current knowledge level. You can acquire both Year 6 and Year 9 tests reference books from your local bookstores or from Amazon UK site. Only after this, you can make the right decision.

          2. As a homeschooling parent, you do not need to formally enrol your children in a school in order to start the IGCSE programme. You only have to register them when they are going to sit for their IGCSE exams. Exam registrations can be done either via your local British Council or any Cambridge schools which accept private candidates (https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/i-want-to/find-a-cambridge-school/). You are free to enrol your sons to IGCSE online courses, download past exam papers (https://www.igcsecentre.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/), getting exam resources such as model answers (https://www.igcsecentre.com/igcse-exam-resources/), or have your practice papers marked by examiners/subject matter experts (https://www.igcsecentre.com/mark-your-papers/), at your own convenience. As private candidates, they can sit for the IGCSE exams at any age and they have the option to spread out their exams in different examination series. Ideally, they must complete all their IGCSE exams within 13 months. This is because there are colleges/universities that would only accept exam results that are within a certain period for example: within 13 months or 24 months, depending on each university’s entry requirements.

          3. There is no minimum subject they can take in a single year. But they are required to complete at least 5 subjects for their whole IGCSE programme.

          4. Please kindly download the subject syllabus here: https://www.igcsecentre.com/cambridge-igcse-subjects-syllabuses/ to learn the subject’s scope and requirements. Generally, IGCSE syllabus expects candidates to have already acquired all the necessary basic requirements. It is a secondary school (high school for some countries) final exam.

          We strongly recommend you to follow the home education guide here: https://www.igcsecentre.com/what-is-homeschooling/

          Hope this helps. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to write to us again.

          Reply ↓

          • Dear IGCSE team,

            Thank you for your informative reply. I have further questions and will be grateful once again for your valuable guidance.

            1. While investigating continuity study options for my sons aged 10 and 11, I came across something called “Cambridge Checkpoint” which, if I understand correctly, prepares learners transitioning from between approximately ages 11 through 14 into secondary school for the core subjects English, Mathematics and Science, so that by the end of their Cambridge Checkpoint studies, they should be equipped sufficiently to continue towards IGCSE. Is this understanding more or less correct?

            2. Is the Cambridge Checkpoint syllabus a combination of specific grades (stages) of the student’s schooling years, such as Grades 7 to 9, collectively, or is this Checkpoint category also divided into separate grades (stages), each prescribing specific grade (stage) books? My research presented in Question #4 seems to imply the latter. Please advise.

            3. I found a website selling books within the Checkpoint category of Cambridge education. Please can you verify if this is an authorized distributor:

            4. According to the website mentioned in Point #3 above, they seem to sell special category books in each subject. I wish to understand these categories better. They seem to cover grades (Stages) 7 to 9, which gives me the impression that Checkpoint means Stages 7, 8 and 9 specifically. Please advise on this as per Question #2 above. Here I wish to inquire more about the ‘categories’ of the books available.

            For English, the categories include “Coursebook (7 to 9)”, “Student’s Book (here 1 and 3 were listed but not 2)”, “Workbook (7 to 9)” and “Teacher’s Resource”. In the English category, there are also for sale some “Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM” resources.

            Mathematics categories include “Challenge Workbook (7 to 9)”, “Coursebook (7 to 9)”, “Practice Book (7 to 9)”, “Skills Builder Workbook (7 to 9)”, “Student’s Book 2 (a single book)” and “Teacher’s Resource (7 to 9)”.

            The Science category contain “Challenge Workbook (7 to 9)”, “Coursebook (7 to 9)”, “Science English Language Skills Workbook Stages 7, 8, 9 (A single book)”, “Skills Builder Workbook (7 to 9)”, “Student’s Book 2 (a single book)”, “Workbook (7 to 9)” and “Teacher’s Resource (7 to 9)”.

            Please advise what exactly are the categories, and what each essentially comprise differently for the subjects. For example:
            What is the difference between “course books” and “Student’s Books”;
            Are the teacher guide books essential for progress if the students are largely studying without much supervision;
            Do the above categories correspond to exercise work that the student must complete in the “Workbooks”;
            Why is the “Student’s book” category in each of the subjects not listed by grade (stage) numbers but are either 1, 2 or 3, so that we cannot know which will correspond to which grades (stage levels);
            Where can we get more details on the type of application in each category, in order to determine which categories of books to buy for each subject for our needs?

            5. Once the student has completed the Checkpoint studies, can they sit for specific exams to certify their completion of these studies for each grade (stage), or perhaps a collective exam for a group of stages as we have asked about in Point #2 above? If so, can they register at any institution offering IGCSE or do you have a unique body of exam centers for the lower grades such as the Checkpoint student years, in various countries? We currently reside in Johannesburg South Africa but will be relocating to Mayapur West Bengal, India from around mid-year this year 2020.

            Thank you kindly for considering all the above questions.

            Yogan Khandoo

          • Hello Yogan,

            You are very much welcome. Please find our answers below:

            1. Yes, you are correct. Checkpoint exams are standardized tests that are used to assess learners at the end of Cambridge Lower Secondary before they progress to the next stage of education. But please be guided that Checkpoint exams are only available for Cambridge schooled students. Checkpoint exams are not available for private candidates.

            2. The curriculum framework of the Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint covers Stages 7 to 9 and it is designed to be used at the end of Stage 9. It provides the foundations for IGCSE and O-Level. Usually the school teachers would use the results from Checkpoint exams as the guideline for deciding on whether to enter the students into Core curriculum or Extended curriculum for IGCSE.

            3. The Checkpoint books are a series of structured and comprehensive course books in English, Mathematics and Science. Generally, the Coursebook gives a thorough introduction to the concepts and offers a wealth of ideas for hands-on activities to make the subject matter come to life. Workbook contains exercises that develop students’ ability to apply their knowledge. Lastly, the Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM provides suggestions for how to introduce concepts in the classroom and how to deal with common misconceptions, as well as worksheets, and activity suggestions and sometimes answers are only available in Teacher’s Resource references.

            Each publisher designs the reference books differently. Please take our above general guidance, and skim through each reference book to understand the function of each book. In this way, you can make better decisions.

            And again, Checkpoint grades are for school’s internal usage only. There is no formal certificate awarded from the IGCSE exam board.

            4. If you are taking the homeschooling route, there are no Checkpoint tests available for private students. You have to make your own assessments to assess your sons’ progress. You may use Checkpoint books to help you with this. The only tests available for private candidates are IGCSE/O-Level exams. When you deem that your sons are ready, register them to your the local British Council or to the nearest registered Cambridge school.

            Hope this helps. Should you need further help, feel free to write to us.

  3. Hi,

    I need help in understanding age limit to choose IGCSE.
    My daughter will be 14 by October 2020, her school starts in June 2020 for 9th grade. Can she be eligible for IGCSE into to 9th grade for the academic year 2020-2021.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Venkat,

      Your daughter is eligible to register for IGCSE since the minimum age to sit in for IGCSE exams is 14 years old. There are two examinations in a year, one in May-June, one in October-November. If she is deemed ready for the examinations, she may sit in for May-June 2021 exams already.

      You might want to check out our A* online revision course. These courses have produced many A* scorers worldwide. To learn how it works, kindly read this page: https://www.igcsecentre.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/. Every year we have two revision sessions, February – April and July – September. We suggest that you subscribe to our newsletter for the announcement. We also send out valuable free email courses in our newsletter.

      If you need further assistance, feel free to write to us again.

      Reply ↓

      • Hi, I am a 12 year old thinking about joining IGCSE in Kenya after I do KCPE {National exams in Kenya}. I want to ask how long it will take me to finish IGCSE from Year 9 to Year 13. How many years will it take and how long is a year?

        Reply ↓

        • Hello Michelle,

          Thank you for writing in.

          Normally, IGCSE is taken by Year 11 students. Then they proceed to take A Level in Year 12 – 13.

          The whole IGCSE syllabus takes roughly 1-2 years to finish. So you must make good plans to follow through and cover all the subjects. You are also free to spread out your examinations. A general guideline is to take your exams within 13 months, if you were to sit for your exams in 2 different examination series.

          You may also consider enrolling to our A* subscription courses. These courses had produced many A* candidates worldwide. It is a 5 month programme where you will have access to various study materials and exam preparation tools. To qualify for our A/A* guarantee, please kindly read this page: https://www.igcsecentre.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses

          Feel free to contact us for any further queries. Thank you.

          Reply ↓

    • Hello Thalia,

      We suggest that you only register for the exam when you are ready for that. The whole syllabus takes roughly 1-2 years to finish. So you must make good plans to follow through and cover all the subjects. You are also free to spread out your examinations. A general guideline is to take your exams within 13 months, if you were to sit for your exams in 2 different examination series.

      You may be interested with our A* online revision courses. These had helped numerous students to score A*. The revision course provides video tutorial, revision timetable, downloadable exam-style practices, common mistakes candidates make during the exams, and also examiners’ advice. Every year we have two revision sessions: February – April and July – September. Please kindly find out the details here: https://www.igcsecentre.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/

      You can also check out other resources we have:
      https://www.igcsecentre.com/igcse-exam-resources/
      https://www.igcsecentre.com/mark-your-papers/

      Reply ↓

  5. Hello –

    I have recently taken my daughter out of International school (Cambridge IGCSE curriculum) to begin homeschooling for years 10 and 11. Where can I find a model curriculum for ICGSE or O Levels that I can follow so that she takes the correct courses for her certificate?

    Thank you!

    Reply ↓

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