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Original poster

Can I ask a stupid question? What's an IGCSE?

61 replies

BelleTheBeatnik · 30/05/2012 20:47

I've only encountered the term on MN, and always assumed it meant you take the exams online instead of as a written exam, because that's the rule when you stick an 'i' infront of any other word! Grin Silly Belle Blush

I've just realised I'm dead wrong. I tried Googling, but it just left me confused - I am the mother of primary school aged DC, and my GCSEs were taken a looong time ago.

So what's the difference between bog-standard GCSEs and IGCSE? No reasons why I want to know, except I'm very curious to know if technology is involved. Wink

OP posts:
Saracen · 30/05/2012 23:35

IGCSEs are also popular among home educated kids because it means they don't have the hassle of getting coursework validated, and can just sit exams as external candidates.

Loshad · 30/05/2012 22:52

Depends on the subject tortu, imo maths iGCSe is more difficult than GCSE, and the science ones clealry contain quite a bit more content than their regular variety, including stuff that would not otherwise be encountered until A level.

HMQueenElizabeth · 30/05/2012 22:51

What I will say though is we did our exams at ridiculous times of the day so we sat them at very similar times to UK students and therefore couldn't phone up someone and cheat. But definitely no difference in difficulty IMO.

HMQueenElizabeth · 30/05/2012 22:50

I did a mixture of GCSEs and IGCSEs in 1993, I didn't notice any difference in difficulty between them. I'm not sure why my school did a mixture of GCSEs and IGCSEs, but always put it down to being schooled in Singapore and therefore the 'International' part made sense to me.

QuicheMeQuick · 30/05/2012 22:44

I did say "supposedly" Tortu Grin

Tortu · 30/05/2012 22:21

Good grief, what a load of twaddle. OP, if the people above had compared the syllabi, they would have seen very little real differences. IGCSEs are not more difficult, but they are more traditional- and I mean this from the perspective of the texts that are studied too. They have risen in popularity, I suspect, because the syllabi for the GCSEs have just changed and it is a complicated change. Loads of schools either can't get their head round it or don't want to change the texts that they have been teaching for the last fifty years.

The most obvious reason that they cannot possibly be more difficult (good grief!), is because which school would want their exam results to look bad in comparison to others just because they had chosen a 'harder' exam board? And similarly, if this was the case, the schools would also be doing a disservice to their students because when filling in application forms in the future, nobody gives a fig which exam board you did, they're just interested in the grades.

I've taught both, by the way. I think GCSEs are a much better 'all-round' measure and are thus more reliable, actually. IGCSEs, in comparison, favour the bright boys who only start revising the night before and are great at blagging! And don't get me started on the poetry. Yawn! IGCSE poetry is painfully boring in comparison to the some of the great stuff on the new GCSE specs.

Original poster
BelleTheBeatnik · 30/05/2012 21:46

I think I would have found them harder, I'm a coursework kind of girl!

Good to know I'm not the only one, TwllBach Grin

OP posts:
TwllBach · 30/05/2012 21:43

I thought the same as you in a vague sort of way OP Grin

Honestyisbest · 30/05/2012 21:41

Popular with academic inde schools. Tough curriculum but better preparation for A level.

Original poster
BelleTheBeatnik · 30/05/2012 21:26

Ahh. Makes sense. Thank you! :)

OP posts:
QuicheMeQuick · 30/05/2012 20:48

International GCSE. Exam only, no coursework. Supposedly more difficult than regular GCSEs

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