What is an IGCSE

What is an IGCSE? IGCSE stands for International General Certificate of Secondary Education

The IGCSE is one of the most recognised qualifications around the world. It is an international system of courses and examinations developed and run by The University of Cambridge, UK.

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education is a two year curriculum program leading to a certificate which is internationally recognized as equivalent in standard to the British GCSE and international GCE O Level examinations. IGCSE provides a foundation for higher level courses such as the International Baccalaureate (IB), GCE A Levels and the North American Advanced Placement Test (APT). IGCSE caters for different levels of ability with a choice between core and extended papers in many subjects. The core curriculum is based on an overview of the subject and is suitable for students expected to achieve grades C and G. The extended curriculum is more challenging and designed for students who are expected to achieve grades A to C. Grades achieved through either route have the same value.

IGCSE offers a flexible course of study that gives candidates the freedom to choose subjects that are right for them, whilst providing them with a broad knowledge base and lifelong skills. IGCSE subject can be taken two ways : As individual subject examination As qualification towards the International Certificate of Education (ICE) The International Certificate of Education (ICE) is awarded to candidates who pass atleast seven IGCSE subjects, including two from Group I and one from each Group II to V. The seventh subject may be chosen from any of the syllabus groups.THE IGCSE CURRICULUM (Syllabus Groups)

GROUP I

GROUP II

GROUP III

GROUP IV

GROUP V

Languages

Foreign Languages

Humanities & Social Sciences

Sciences

Mathematics

Creative, Technical & Vocational

Number of mandatory subjects for ICE

21111

* The seventh subject may be chosen from any of the syllabus groups.

The ICE may be awarded at one of three levels: Distinction Five Grade As and 2 Grade Cs or better Merit Five Grade Cs and two Grade Fs or better. Pass Grade G or better in seven subjects. IGCSE subjects can be examined at two levels: Core and Extended. The Extended level can be awarded grades A to E. The Core level the grades range from C to G. Wherever possible we aim to enter all students for the Extended level examinations. Grades are awarded as shown below. Level% (Extended)IGCSE

Outstanding90%+A*

Excellent80%+A

Very Good70%+B

Good60%+C

Satisfactory50%+D

This is the boundary for passing or failing

Unsatisfactory40%+E

Weak30%+F

Very Poor20%+G

Less than 20%U

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What is an A-level? A & AS exams are gold standard qualifications that have been available from Cambridge for over 50 years. An A-level is an Advanced level GCE qualification. This exam is normally taken after two years of A-level study, after you have taken your IGCSE exams. You can take any number of A-levels; this will often depend on the qualifications that your chosen institution has asked for. In the UK, many college student take three or four A-levels for their final two years of study. You can take an A-level if you have a IGCSE qualification (usually in the same subject that you want to study at A-level; however, some A-levels are not available as IGCSE subjects, such as theatre studies, psychology and politics). In the current system, A-levels are graded from A to E. The raw mark in papers are converted to marks on a Uniform Mark Scale (UMS), so that every A-level subject has a maximum of 600 UMS marks, and every AS-level subject 300. Each grade requires a specific percentage of the UMS points available in both the A- and AS-levels:GradeABCDE

Percentage80% - 100%70% - 79%60% - 69%50% - 59%40% - 49%