Cambridge IGCSE is an international qualification for 14 to 16 year olds, first examined in 1988. Cambridge says it is the world's most popular international qualification for this age. It is not a local BEC exam, so the papers, the mark schemes and the way questions are worded are different. Cambridge aligns the standard of IGCSE with the GCSE taken in England.
Candidates enter through a registered centre. Rules and dates come from Cambridge and your centre. Cambridge IGCSE (opens the Cambridge website)
- Assessment takes place at the end of the course and can include written, oral, coursework and practical work.
- In many subjects you choose between a core and an extended curriculum, so the qualification suits a wide range of abilities.
- Grades run from A* to G. Some subjects also have a 9 to 1 version, so check which code your school enters you for.
- Exam series run in June and November. Results are issued in August and January.
Cambridge offers more than 70 IGCSE subjects. See the main ones by group on our syllabuses page, with links to the official Cambridge syllabus for each.
It is for students whose school or centre enters them for IGCSE, and for students who wrote before and want to try again. You can come from any school.
It also suits students who know the topic but still lose marks, because IGCSE rewards a particular way of answering.
Some students who found BGCSE hard choose to study IGCSE instead. We cannot promise a result, because the two exams are different and every student is different. We can test where you stand and tell you honestly which route fits. Read Moving from BGCSE to IGCSE.
Cambridge runs two exam series a year, in June and November, and each has its own entry deadline. Dates and deadlines come from Cambridge and your exam centre, so check the official notice first. If you are rewriting, see the Resit page.
