As your child moves from Lower Secondary (Year 7to Year 9 in the UK curriculum) to IGCSE you maybe wondering what changes this brings. Our IGCSEcourses are designed to be challenging and engagingas well as academically rigorous. Your child’s choiceof IGCSE subjects can have a major bearing on theirfuture education and career options.

In the UK, most children study eight or moreIGCSE subjects over two academic years. They takea broad range of subjects, including EnglishLanguage, Maths and one or more Science course(s)(individual, single or double options are available),and then they choose options from EnglishLiterature, one or more Humanities(Environmental Management, Geography, History)and often a Modern Foreign Language (French,Spanish and German are the most popular). Otheroptions such as Business Studies, ComputerScience, Economics, Latin and Psychology arepopular, too.

When choosing your child’s IGCSE courses, westrongly recommend a minimum of 6-9 subjects.This would keep their options open for their futurestudies at A level and beyond.

If English isn’t your child’s first language then weadvise them to take our online pre-test. Thisassesses whether they need to take IGCSE Englishas a Second Language or if they are ready forIGCSE English Language. If IGCSE EnglishLanguage (first language) is taken then this opensall A Level courses to them and is essential forongoing studies at university.

WOLSEY HALL OXFORDM o v i n g f r o m L o w e r S e c o n d a r y t o I G C S E c o u r s e s

Welcome to Wolsey Hall'sIGCSE Courses

C h o o s i n g S u b j e c t s

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If your child is required to takeEnglish as a Second Language, youmight consider enrolling them ontothe IGCSE English Language (firstlanguage) course later on.

Our IGCSE courses take approximately 150hours of study, plus the time needed forpreparation of each assignment (10-12assignments per subject). For IGCSEEnglish, Maths or Combined Science, allowup to 180 hours of study. This timeframemay be shorter or longer depending onyour child’s ability as a learner.

You are also encouraged to book anappointment with our InternationalUniversity Advice Service to get supportplanning an IGCSE and A Level programmethat aligns with your potential universityand career interests. The University Advisorcan also offer guidance with planning theco-curricular and extra-curricular activitiesthat are essential to a successful applicationin some countries, particularly the USA.

To choose Modern Foreign Languages atIGCSE, it requires two years of study atLower Secondary level (or equivalent).

IGCSE Additional Maths is a furtherqualification, which can only be enrolled onalongside IGCSE Maths (extended) once an85% mark has been achieved in the first fourassignments on the Maths course. If yourchild is planning to take A Level Maths, weadvise against taking the IGCSE Mathsexams early and then having a ‘study gap’ inthis subject. Instead, they could take IGCSEAdditional Maths to fill this gap, if required.

If your child wishes to take IGCSE EnglishLiterature, they need to also study theIGCSE English Language course.

However, if your child certainly wants tostudy a certain subject(s) at A level orbeyond, please check whether they require afoundation at IGCSE level in any subject(s).Our Admissions Team are able to advise.

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C h o o s i n g S u b j e c t s c o n t ' d

IGCSE student Stefania has shared her toptips for choosing your IGCSE subjects.

S u b j e c t R e q u i r e m e n t sIt is never too early to take a look at theUCAS website for degree choices in the UKas this can inform your decision aboutwhich IGCSEs to take.

For international university applicants:entry requirements can vary significantlybetween countries, so we stronglyrecommend consulting specific universitywebsites to check what IGCSE are currentlyexpected.

I G C S E S u b j e c t s A v a i l a b l e

Biology Business Studies Chemistry

Computer Science Combined Science (one IGCSE)

Co-ordinated Sciences(two IGCSEs)

Economics English LanguageEnglish as a Second

Language

English LiteratureEnvironmentalManagement

French

Geography German History

Latin Maths Maths - Additional

Physics Psychology Spanish

Your child may wish to choose subjects ofinterest to them when they move tostudying at IGCSE. Some IGCSEs do notrequire previous knowledge – e.g. BusinessStudies, Economics, EnvironmentalManagement, Latin and Psychology.

Wolsey Hall has designed each ‘year’ of itsIGCSE courses to be taken over 9 monthsto which holiday periods should be added.

It is also possible to split IGCSE exams overtwo years and to take 4 or 5 in each year.For more information take a look at ourIGCSE Exam Information. We offer mockexams, at extra cost, for students whowould like to get some exam practice priorto the actual exams.

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Your child will continue to receive fullsupport from Wolsey Hall while studying atIGCSE level. They will receive one-to-oneTutor support via Canvas and a welcomevideo call from their Tutors at the start ofeach course. They will also continue toreceive regular support from their StudentProgress Manager (SPM).

Parents may need to assist their children increating a timetable based on their chosensubjects and the time they have available.Our Study Time Calculator and TimetableGuide will help you in the process, but do askyour SPM if you need any help here.

Note that a range of services is available tohelp students who encounter difficulty withtheir studies. These include learning support,mentoring and study skills. These servicesaim to reduce potential barriers to learningwhile fostering an environment wherestudents develop their organisation andindependent study skills.

Students can also book appointments withour University Advice or InternationalUniversity Advice Services to get guidancewith planning an IGCSE/A Level programmethat aligns with their potential university andcareer interests.

S t u d y S u p p o r t

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T h e I G C S E i s t h ew o r l d ’ s m o s t p o p u l a r

e x a m q u a l i f i c a t i o n f o r1 4 t o 1 6 y e a r o l d s , a n dt h e C a m b r i d g e I G C S E

i s r e c o g n i s e d b yu n i v e r s i t i e s a n d

e m p l o y e r s e v e r y w h e r e .

We warmly encourage your child to participate in ourStudent Community which includes clubs with monthlythemes and regular student competitions with prizes tobe won. Access to these clubs can be found on the StudentCommunity website. Our Virtual Library is also free to borrow books from.There are hundreds of fiction and non-fiction titles tochoose from.

There is also an active student forum on the Communitywebsite where your child can connect and make friendswith other Wolsey Hall learners worldwide.

W o l s e y H a l lC l u b s i n c l u d e :

S t u d e n t C o m m u n i t y

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A r t & D e s i g nB o o k C l u b sC h e s sC o o k e r yC r e a t i v e W r i t i n gD i g i t a l M e d i aH e a l t h & F i t n e s s

C o n n e c t w i t h W o l s e y H a l l P a r e n t s

There is a private Facebook group for parents withchildren currently studying IGCSE and A level courses.This group provides the opportunity to connect withother families, ask advice and share information.