Cambridge IGCSE

 

What is Cambridge IGCSE?

Cambridge IGCSE  is a thirty year old  international qualification  for students in the age group of 14 to 16 years. As on date ,160 countries  are offering the Cambridge curriculum

What are the subjects  offered by  IGCSE and what is  Cambridge ICE Certificate?

IGCSE is offered through 5 subject groups. The details of the group and the subjects that come under it have been given below. A student can choose from over 70 subjects in any combination , which includes 30 languages as well.

A comprehensive list of all the subjects can be accessed by clicking on the link below:

https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-upper-secondary/cambridge-igcse/subjects/

ICE Certificate :

Cambridge Also offers the prestigious ICE Certificate. This requires the student to pass the examination in atleast seven Cambridge IGCSE Subjects. including two from Group 1 and one from each of Groups 2 to 5. The seventh subject may be chosen from any of the syllabus groups. The details of the groups are as follows:

• Group 1 - Languages
• Group 2 - Humanities
• Group 3 - Sciences
• Group 4 - Mathematics
• Group 5 - Creative and Vocational

Students who qualify for the Cambridge ICE award will be placed in one of three categories:

• Distinction - Grade A or better in five subjects and grade C or better in two subjects.
• Merit - Grade C or better in five subjects and grade F or better in two subjects.
• Pass - Grade G or better in seven subjects

 

More details about the ice certificate can be had from:

https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-upper-secondary/cambridge-ice/

What are the different  exam sessions in which the exam can be taken?

Indian students may  choose to appear in October/May or March sessions, WHILE OUTSIDE India students can choose to appear for October or May sessions. Also certain schools offer to choose particular sessions only. Moreover some  IGCSE subjects are only available in certain sessions. So  it is important to consult your school before deciding upon a particular session.

Are Cambridge courses recognised?

Countries such as US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany just to name a few   recognise and value the Cambridge qualifications.

Over 600 universities in the US accept Cambridge International AS & A Levels, including all Ivy League and Ivy Plus universities. Cambridge qualifications are accepted by all UK  universities .Some of the prestigious universities US universities to accept the qualification: Stanford ,Yale Brown, Harvard, MIT among many others

How does Cambridge grade its  IGCSE students?

Grading by Cambridge  for IGCSE is done in the following ways:

Cambridge marks some exams on paper and some (such as multiple-choice exams) are marked automatically by a computer.

Cambridge examiners are teachers or experts in their subject, and they are carefully selected and trained. It is vital that they all mark to the same standard so that we can award the right mark to every candidate every time.

Grades are set once all  marking has been done. This is preceded by deciding grade boundaries and these are a   mixt of evidence gathered via statistics  and expert judgement Grade boundaries also take into account the fact that each exam paper might have a different difficulty level. Thus a student who has appeared  for a very tough paper in some year does not suffer due to low scores obtained by him as compared to a student who scores higher grades just because the difficulty level of his exam paper was lesser.

Once the grade boundaries have been agreed, They are then applied to  the  marks obtained by the student to decide his grade.

Which are the IGCSE schools in India?

A large number of schools have come up with the sole intention of teaching the IGCSE curriculum, some have shifted their base from teaching other boards such as ICSE, State board to IGCSE.

Following sites can offer a list of IGCSE Schools:

https://wonderfulmumbai.com/list-of-international-schools-in-mumbai/

The main reason why schools and many parents are opting  for IGCSE is :

• It is a   highly flexible curriculum that offers the learners to choose the subject in terms of CORE and Extended; the core being for those who are not in a position to ace the subject but still want to learn the subject.
• It is a highly responsive board, with every query getting answered through emails.
• It is also extremely easy for parents/teachers/students to gain clarity about the  indepth curriculum, assessment= pattern, criteria and the curriculum changes.
• Continuous professional development workshops  keep the teachers equipped professionally to meet the classroom challenges.
• It offers a wide range of subjects to choose from. ( more than 50 subjects)
• It offers choice of  different sessions to appear for board exams.
• Most importantly learners with special educational needs may benefit from specific access arrangements that take the learner’s difficulty into account when assessments or learning tasks are performed

More information about access arrangements can be got from:

https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/271195-special-educational-needs.pdf

• It is a curriculum that teaches a learner real life applications.
• It inculcates effective time management skills (  For example: Any Science MCQ paper:   40 marks-45 min  MCQ)
• It enriches the subject vocab.
• It has a wide range of endorsed material to choose from;   from revision guides to student books to work books.
• The prestigious qualification is recognised globally.
• It is also a best board to consider for homeschooling.

To sum it all up, Cambridge IGCSE is a complete solution for the perfect education.