IGCSE explained, for parents

Cambridge International Education (called Cambridge Assessment International Education until October 2023, and University of Cambridge International Examinations before that) is a division of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. It is part of the University of Cambridge, operates as a not-for-profit organisation, and holds no authority over any school except through the direct relationship that school chooses to maintain with Cambridge.

Cambridge offers a structured pathway: Cambridge Primary, then Cambridge Lower Secondary, then Cambridge Upper Secondary - which includes the IGCSE - and Cambridge Advanced (AS and A Level) for those who continue. Your child's school can only call itself a "Cambridge School" after going through Cambridge's own registration and approval process. This is not a title the school can adopt independently. A school can be approved for some Cambridge programmes and not others.

Cambridge is not the only body awarding an "International GCSE". Pearson Edexcel and OxfordAQA - a joint venture between Oxford University Press and AQA - also award International GCSE qualifications, mostly through British-curriculum schools abroad. When an Indian school advertises "IGCSE", it almost always means Cambridge IGCSE specifically, which is what this page covers.

Cambridge stage	Cambridge's stated age range	Roughly equivalent to
Cambridge Primary (Stages 1-6)	5 to 11	Class 1 to 5/6
Cambridge Lower Secondary (Stages 7-9)	11 to 14	Class 6 to 8
Cambridge Upper Secondary - includes Cambridge IGCSE	14+	Class 9 to 10

Two things about this table matter more than the numbers themselves. First, Cambridge's boundaries are 'roughly' by design - schools decide exactly where age groups sit, so the Primary-to-Lower Secondary transition is a school choice, not Cambridge rule. Second, IGCSE is just the top tier of a much broader system. Many Indian 'IGCSE schools' run Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary for years before any IGCSE subjects begin - a Class 3 child in such a school isn't doing 'IGCSE' at all, but Cambridge Primary.

At the end of Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary, schools may optionally sit Cambridge Primary Checkpoint and Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint. Cambridge explicitly states what these are: diagnostic tools providing feedback on strengths and weaknesses in English, Maths and Science - not pass-or-fail exams, and not mandatory. There's no Cambridge board exam before IGCSE, just as there's no CBSE exam before Class 10.

IGCSE isn't a single exam with a fixed subject list like ICSE or CBSE Class 10. Cambridge offers over 70 individual IGCSE subjects, but schools choose which to teach and how many each student takes. Every subject has its own syllabus and its own certificate - there's no overall 'IGCSE pass' the way ICSE has one.

For several subjects - Maths, sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, combined science options), and some second languages - Cambridge offers two tiers. Core aims for grades C to G, and Core students cannot score above C no matter what they achieve. Extended covers all Core content plus additional material, targeting grades A* to E. Schools choose which tier each student sits - and this changes what is taught, not just how it's marked.

Cambridge offers an optional broader award - the Cambridge International Certificate of Education (ICE) - for students passing at least seven IGCSE subjects across five groups. Most students don't pursue it and just take their individual IGCSE certificates, moving on to Cambridge International AS & A Level or elsewhere.

There's no set textbook for any of this. Cambridge's official guidance says no specific book is required, and different endorsed textbooks are available precisely so schools can choose - Cambridge has stated it doesn't believe one standard textbook works across all countries and contexts. What Cambridge publishes is the syllabus: content, assessment objectives, command words, plus (for many subjects) a list of endorsed textbooks. Endorsement means Cambridge has checked a textbook against the syllabus, not that Cambridge wrote it. Two IGCSE schools teaching the same subject can legitimately use different endorsed books, non-endorsed books, or their own material - so like CBSE and ICSE, what matters is your school's syllabus code and specific book choice, not a generic 'IGCSE Maths' template.

This confusion is common enough to need its own section. IGCSE and ICSE are not different versions of the same thing—they are two separate qualifications from two unrelated organisations in two different countries. The similarity in their names is almost coincidental.

ICSE is the Class 10 examination of CISCE, a private Indian board headquartered in Delhi and founded in 1958. IGCSE—Cambridge IGCSE specifically—is the age 14–16 upper-secondary qualification from Cambridge International Education, based in the UK. They share a genuine historical connection: CISCE traces its history through the Anglo-Indian examination system back to Cambridge exams that Anglo-Indian schools took in the 1940s, which likely explains the name similarity. Since 1958, however, the two have been run by separate organisations with separate syllabuses, textbooks and examinations.

If you're choosing between them, here are the key differences: ICSE is a single Class 10 board examination with a fixed subject list, while IGCSE offers more than 70 separately certificated subjects for schools to select from, with many tiered into Core and Extended levels. CISCE publishes a compulsory primary curriculum but leaves textbook choice to the school; Cambridge publishes a syllabus that only becomes prescriptive from Cambridge Lower Secondary onward, keeping Cambridge Primary flexible. Neither is objectively "better"—they are built for different educational systems.

We are clear about three key points before any class is scheduled.

• We operate independently and do not hold Cambridge certification. Only schools undergo Cambridge's formal registration and approval—tutors cannot be "Cambridge-authorised" in any recognised sense. We deliver subject teaching tailored to your child's actual school syllabus and textbooks.
• For Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary learners, teaching is conversational and relaxed, with no exam stress, because Checkpoint testing at these levels serves as a diagnostic tool rather than a pass-fail barrier.
• IGCSE: Core versus Extended must be decided at the start. A student pursuing Core faces different academic targets than one pursuing Extended in the same subject; teaching them using the same approach wastes precious time.
• Your school provides the books and syllabus codes, not us, as Cambridge does not prescribe them. Share your syllabus code (the four digits on the front cover, for example 0580 for Mathematics) or a photo of the syllabus contents page, and we build the teaching plan accordingly.

Group and one-to-one class rates appear on the fees page, and we offer a free assessment before you commit. For IGCSE-specific support, especially when juggling Core and Extended across multiple subjects, one-to-one tuition often serves students better.