The goal of education is to impart knowledge to students that will help them become better learners and humans. Students need to develop skills that will assist them in growing and developing positively and successfully. IGCSE is a board which ensures precisely this.
What is IGCSE?
IGCSE is an acronym for International General Certificate of Secondary Education. Cambridge International Examinations has created it at the University of Cambridge. Any student who completes an IGCSE course earns an internationally recognised credential. The exam boards Edexcel and Oxford AQA provide their versions of the International GCSEs.
Students usually begin studying for the IGCSE course when they are ten years old and take the exam when they are eleven. On the other hand, some foreign schools allow pupils to begin studying the IGCSE course at the age of nine and sit the exams as early as the ninth grade. It is a flexible programme designed for 14-16-year-olds. It aims at “preparing school students for life, helping them develop an informed curiosity and a lasting passion for learning.”
IGCSE Academic Tutoring is about having the proper mix of knowledge, engagement, and communication skills. With grades now closely related to life chances and professional advancements, it’s more crucial than ever to accommodate each student’s learning capacity and flexibility. Our IGCSE online tutoring classes are personalised to each student and fit into any family’s busy schedule. IGCSE tutoring lessons are held with the understanding that each student is different in terms of learning and comprehension abilities. We use various interactive tools and strategies for efficient coaching of young kids across geographical borders.
Details on the five subject groups in IGCSE
Group 1: Languages
IGCSE offers two sections under languages broadly- first language, second language and foreign language.
First language and second language: A student can opt for a first language in their native language and a second language if they aren’t fluent in that particular language or if they shift to a country where they are familiar with the native language. Still, that language isn’t their native language. An example is if an Indian student shifts to the UK, they might have to opt for English as a second language instead of a first language despite knowing the English language. However, in many schools in India, Indian students are allotted a first language and second language in a language irrespective of their native language and primarily based on their fluency in that language. Therefore, being assigned a particular language section- first or second dramatically depends on where the student is studying and the school’s policies.
Foreign language: Foreign language in IGCSE aims at developing the learner’s ability to use a completely foreign language effectively for practical communication. Foreign language ensures listeners get familiarised with the language’s listening, reading, speaking and writing aspects throughout the course. Along with teaching the language, the syllabus aims to offer insight into the culture and civilisation of countries where the language is spoken to increase the learner’s knowledge, help them get a better understanding at a global level and develop positive attitudes towards the language learning and speakers of it.
The three aspects of language in IGCSE aim to give students a holistic learning experience and ensure that they are well prepared to use the taught languages confidently in the real world. A headteacher from a school in the UK also says, “Cambridge IGCSE appealed to us because it has a linear structure and there are examinations in all four of the main skills areas for languages – listening, reading, writing and speaking. The students feel confident, having studied the Cambridge IGCSE, that they can access the A Level syllabus and do very well, and also do well beyond that”. Some of the languages that IGCSE offers are English, Spanish, German, French, Arabic, etc. This differs from school to school.
Group 2: Humanities and Social Sciences
Humanities and social sciences cover many subjects like Geography, Art and Design, Economics, History and many more. Here is some information on these four subjects:
Geography: Through IGCSE Geography, students look at the world around them from a local, regional and global lens and develop a sense of place. They examine an extensive range of natural and human-made environments and study the processes which affect their development. They learn how to interact with the environment, the opportunities and challenges it presents, and at the end, gain a deeper insight into the groups, traditions and cultures across the globe.
Art and Design: The syllabus here encourages personal responses through stimulating imagination, conceptual thinking, powers of observation, sensitivity, and analytical ability. It instils confidence and enthusiasm in learners and the ability to identify and solve problems in visual and tactile forms. They are also encouraged to learn how to develop ideas from scratch and develop solutions.
Economics: IGCSE economics aims at developing an understanding of economic theories, principles, and terminologies. It makes it a point to ensure that learners can apply their knowledge to the real world and current economic issues through real-world case studies and their examination. They learn about different economics and the interrelationship between them.
History: IGCSE history aims at promoting awareness of major historical international events and issues of the 19th and 20th centuries in students and focuses on covering histories of some particular regions or events in depth. Through IGCSE history, students learn the required skills for studying historical evidence and developing historical knowledge.
Group 3: Sciences
Biology: IGCSE biology promotes understanding of the biological world in students, where they learn to live in the natural world, embrace it, and take an informed interest in science and scientific developments. This course focuses on teaching the basic principles and concepts of biology, applying biology in real life and practical skills, and the current ways it is used.
Chemistry: This course encourages understanding the technological world the students live in and taking an informed interest in science and scientific developments. Students here learn basic concepts of chemistry, its current applications, and the practical skills involved.
Physics: This course exposes students to the working of the world and helps them gain a deeper insight into natural phenomena of matter and the working of nature. Students become curious learners through this course and more involved with their environment.
Group 4: Mathematics
IGCSE offers three different levels of mathematics- core, international and additional. Available levels and getting allocated to a particular group vary depending on your school, performance, teacher, country and chosen exam board.
Mathematics core: This level deals with the most basic mathematical concepts for those who struggle with mathematics.
Mathematics international: This level encourages learners to understand and develop the critical life skill of mathematical abilities. It forms a strong foundation for further mathematical study and provides support skills for other subjects. It also develops learners’ confidence, competency and fluency in using mathematical techniques with and without a graphic display calculator (GDC). It cultivates mathematical understanding, reasoning and analytical skills, identifying patterns, etc. It also teaches students to apply their mathematical learning to real life and mathematical investigation and modelling. Overall, students here learn how to reason mathematically.
Mathematics additional: This level encourages learners to develop their mathematical problem-solving ability and provides a strong progression for advanced study in mathematics and other highly numerate courses. This level is mainly opted by students who are exceptionally good at mathematics as the syllabus stretches the more able candidates with a higher level of mathematics.
Group 5: Creative, Technical & Vocational
Accounting: The IGCSE accounting syllabus introduces students to accounting concepts in the context of various modern economics and businesses. It instils skills in reporting, presenting, interpreting financial information and recording, and builds an ideal foundation for further study or a future within the field.
Information and communication technology (ICT): This course focuses on understanding technology’s implications in society and how it can help at home, work and the wider world. Students are encouraged to solve problems using standard software such as word processors and interactive presentation software. There is an additional emphasis on developing lifelong skills that students can carry with them to help with other courses or use as a foundation for further studies in this field.
PREPARE WITH ROSTRUM
IGCSE is one of the world’s most popular and preferred boards, especially for 14 to 16-year-olds. A lot of the time, it emerges victorious. As the better board when compared with other boards because it is said to open doors around the world for its students by providing you with a holistic learning experience, the knowledge that is necessary to survive in this world and do much more, and the application of the knowledge learnt, etc.
The IGCSE curriculum prepares students for admission into international universities. It focuses on increasing a student’s knowledge and communication, listening, and writing skills, which are essential in the real world and for career opportunities. With its more practical and application-based approach, students find it easier to adapt to the challenges university academic life presents. IGCSE also promotes independent learning with minimal supervision to ensure that students are given their own space and opportunities to develop new ideas. The teachers only focus on providing the basic foundation of the syllabus, and students are expected to do the rest of the job: study the foundation provided by the teachers and reach out to external resources for applying their learnt knowledge. This board, therefore, doesn’t in any way promote rote learning.
With all the advantages that IGCSE provides a student with as compared to other boards, students gain much more power than other students in different curriculums through their extensive knowledge and skill development, and as the famous quote says, “with great power comes great responsibility”! The responsibility students are bestowed within this curriculum is revising and learning most effectively since, as fun as IGCSE sounds, it can be quite challenging without the proper support.
Why can IGCSE be challenging?
- The wide variety of subjects a student must take can burden them without proper guidance.
- Since the courses in IGCSE try to cover critical practical skills and pass down the most relevant knowledge in each subject, the courses can be lengthy and have a lot to study. Students might need to learn how to structure their studies to juggle all their selected subjects.
- In IGCSE, students are expected to rely on many external sources to study, like newspapers, past papers, etc., and not just the school-provided books. They needed to know which resources to use, when and how can make IGCSE even more difficult.
All the reasons above give IGCSE a reputation of being easy to pass through but difficult to score high marks in. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Given the challenges above, having a well-trained guidance and support system is very important. We at Rostrum are here to provide you with excellent help to make your IGCSE much easier through IGCSE online coaching so that you can learn from any corner of the world. Rostrum provides students with specialised and well-known IGCSE tutors and IGCSE tuitions where the student’s learning and overall development in the respective subject are paid close attention to. Students can gain access to tuition for different IGCSE subjects. The most popular tuition choices have been for IGCSE physics and math since both these courses can be challenging in IGCSE.
Here’s how you’d find Rostrum to be different:
- Assessment Support: The IGCSE assesses students based on their oral skills, coursework and practical assessments. Our expert IGCSE tutors provide extraordinary support in accomplishing the assessment objectives.
- Strategic Learning: We offer tutoring services not just at the centres in India and UAE but also online for students from anywhere, for all the course subjects of the IGCSE (Core and Extended) such as IGCSE Math, IGCSE Economics, IGCSE Physics, IGCSE Chemistry and many more. Our IGCSE tutors help you outline your areas of strengths and improvement in a subject. Our personalised care ensures that you overcome your difficulties and achieve an A* in IGCSE exams.
- Maximise Scores: The chances of entering your dream university are determined by your grades in both the pre-university programme and the IGCSE. Our IGCSE tutors ensure you are prepared in every way for your boards and score so high that your dream university wouldn’t just be a dream university.
Benefits of learning with us:
- Help in better structuring your learning process and journey.
- Help identify the right resources and when and how to use them.
- Flexible learning methods which provide the students with their personal space to think and express themselves
- A student-friendly place where students’ personal development is kept at the centre of attention
- Help and support during IGCSE exam preparation
- High scores in IGCSE exams with the help of our IGCSE tutors, who are specialised in the particular subjects they teach
- Our IGCSE online tutoring classes are personalised to each student and fit into any family’s busy schedule.
- Our IGCSE tutors accommodate each student’s learning capacity and flexibility.
- We use various interactive tools and strategies for efficient coaching of young kids across geographical borders.
- IGCSE tutoring lessons are held with the understanding that each student is different in terms of learning and comprehension abilities.
IGCSE programs have risen in popularity, and students make a positive impression on universities when they graduate successfully and with good grades from the IGCSE board. Rostrum is the perfect place to ensure a smooth and highly successful IGCSE journey and, therefore an equally successful higher education journey ahead.
