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Important guidance regarding IGCSE exams

Home >Important guidance regarding IGCSE exams

Immanuel Online School will provide subject-specific guidance to prepare you for your IGCSE exams. It is important to note, however, that we are not responsible for the exam entry process. This means that arranging and booking exams are tasks that parents, guardians or schools need to undertake.

Key points about Cambridge International GCSEs:

  • The world’s most popular international qualification for 14-to-16-year olds
  • Internationally recognised and equivalent to British GCSE qualifications
  • Offered by Cambridge Assessment International Education
  • Exam centres in over 150 countries
  • Choice between traditional letter grades (A* to G) or numerical grades (9 to 1)
  • Accessible to home educated private candidates

Finding an exam centre

Cambridge IGCSE exams are taken in registered exam centres by our students as private candidates. These centres can be specialist exam providers, schools or British Council offices internationally. You can use the links below to find exam centres near to you.

Be careful of the deadlines for booking exams. These will vary depending on the venue but it is generally advisable to book your summer (May to June) exams by January of the year in which you plan to sit them (e.g. January 2025 for exams in May or June 2025).

To make sure the exams are available in your preferred centre(s) it is worth making enquiries as soon as possible (e.g November/December).

You can also find more information about taking exams as a private candidate on the Cambridge International website here.

Helpful lists for finding Cambridge exam centres:

Some private schools also accept private candidate entries (if their own students sit IGCSE exams) but they may not advertise this publicly. We suggest contacting them to see if this is possible.

Pricing and exam centre arrangements

Each exam centre can set its own prices. Some commercial centres specialising in exams tend to be more expensive while schools accepting private candidates are often cheaper.

Do plan ahead for the exam days, ideally ensuring your child is familiar with the exam venue and any additional requirements. Please read through this page on the Cambridge International website with your child to know what to expect and what to bring to the exams.

If your child needs any access or special arrangements (e.g. extended time or larger print exam papers) please do discuss this with the exam centre when you enquire about booking.

Setting up an exam centre

If you are a school or local hub and interested in setting up an exam centre, please note that the requirements include a permanently staffed reception, secure paper storage and suitable exam room.

Exam codes and papers

Cambridge offer two grading options for each subject: either traditional letter grades (A* to G) or numerical grades (9 to 1) to reflect the newer English and Welsh grading system introduced in 2019. Numerical grade exams are available in the UK but not in every country. The curriculum and exam questions are the same for each option but the results are expressed differently.

Below are the Cambridge exam codes and exam papers for the subjects for which we prepare students in code order. The first code is for the letter grade and the second code is the number grade.

  • Business Studies (0450 / 0986) Papers 1 and 2
  • Geography (0460 / 0976) Papers 1, 2 and 4
  • History (0470 / 0977) Papers 1, 2 and 4
  • English – Literature in English (0475 / 0992) Papers 1, 3 and 4
  • Computer Science (0478 / 0984) Papers 1 and 2
  • English - First Language (0500 / 0990) Papers 1 and 2
  • Mathematics (0580 / 0980) Extension papers 2 and 4*
  • Biology (0610 / 0970) Extension papers 2, 4 and 6*
  • Chemistry (0620 / 0971) Extension papers 2, 4 and 6*
  • Physics (0625 / 0972) Extension papers 2, 4 and 6*

*Cambridge recommend that students who are expected to achieve a grade D or below are entered for core rather than extension papers. Candidates taking the core papers will be eligible for grades C to G or 5 to 1. Our courses cover all of the curriculum incuding core and extended but please do write to your child's tutors to obtain their opinion on whether they should be entered for the core or extended exam papers.

Foundations is a non-examined course (so we don't set Assignments either in Years 10 to 11).

Exam dates and Time Zones

Cambridge publish the dates on which exams will be held here. You can find out your administrative zone by clicking here. The UK is in Zone 3.

Mock exams

Students practise exam style questions throughout their courses and sit timed mock exams in the summer in Year 10 and winter/spring in Year 11. They will also be provided with plenty of practice papers for the revision period.