A Deep Dive Into What IGCSE Has to Offer

Written by Juwon Lee

Option booklets and subject syllabuses provide information about subject contents but some things can only be learnt from first-hand experience.

Art

While past students in IGCSE Art & Design acknowledge it as one of the most demanding and time consuming due to its exhaustive portfolio requirements, it offers numerous opportunities to create art. For students who are passionate about art, IGCSE Art could be an opportunity to pursue your interests. 

Business & Economics

Both Business and Economics lie outside the KS3 curriculum, which might make them initially more enjoyable to learn. However, as students are unfamiliar with the subjects and the teachers, they may be presented with academic challenges and a stricter grading criteria. While Business and Economics are both logic based, Business requires students to write more and Economics has more graph analysis.

Computer Science (CS) & Information & Communications Technology (ICT)

Computer Science is the subject every IGCSE student told me not to choose due to its rigor and the sheer amount of material that needs to be learnt. But before you completely rule this subject out, if you enjoy coding or challenges like Bebras then consider taking CS. If you prefer theory-heavy subjects and are good with using computer programs such as Excel, you might want to choose ICT instead. Half of the CS assessment focuses heavily on hardware and computer systems, so students should note that CS is not entirely coding-based.

Design Technology (DT)

DT is one of, if not the most coursework-heavy subject in IGCSE. In DT, students design, annotate, manufacture using both physical models and fusion, and design some more. Current DT students emphasise that there is an immense amount of coursework, which can be both fun and time consuming.

Drama

Not only does drama consist of acting and performance but it also contains theory aspects such as devising original drama, analysing scripts, and directing. Choose Drama if you want to get to know how a play comes to life, but keep in mind that you can still star in school plays without taking the subject.

Geography

Geography IGCSE builds on knowledge from KS3; students learn about land forms, animals, the environment, and everything else related to the land we live on. For many students, the highlight of taking Geography is the year 11 field trip to Mui Ne.

History

While History requires students to write substantial amounts of essays, grading is less subjective than many expect. Moreover, the curriculum extends beyond simply memorising dates; students are required to thoroughly understand the events through source analysis and critical thinking. Your coursework will be finished and submitted by the end of year 10; this leaves you more time to revise for the final exams in year 11, but you will not be able to edit or make improvements after it is submitted.

Music

IGCSE Music includes all aspects of music including performing, composing, and studying theory; the IGCSE music course has a similar difficulty to an ABRSM grade 5 in both performance and music theory.

MFL

MFL includes the same three languages that have been offered to students from primary and it is rarely advised for students to change their language for IGCSE. IGCSE second language exams are split into four categories: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Continuing with your current MFL language in IGCSE allows you to take it as a language B in IB.

PE IGCSE

By integrating practical evaluations with biological studies, PE IGCSE is for students who are interested not only in playing the sports but also studying about the body. Students choose a selection of sports and record themselves playing as part of the course and later take a written exam as well.