FOR STUDENTS planning to start IGCSE courses this September, now is the time to choose which subjects to study — and decisions need to be made with care. The ideal IGCSE ‘portfolio’ should include subjects in which a student performs well, but also those which will help achieve longer-term academic or professional ambitions.
To provide some context, IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) is one of the world’s best-known international qualifications, and is based on the UK’s GCSE. CIE’s IGCSE is equal in all respects to its UK equivalent, except that it is developed independently and exclusively for the international educational community, ensuring the exam is relevant to those outside the UK.
IGCSEs are available in a wide range of subjects (CIE offers more than 50); of course, not all schools offer all subjects, but students usually find the core portfolio offered by most schools more than meets their needs.
Subject choice and combination is often a worry, especially if a student has little idea of his or her future profession – and most 13-year-olds don’t. It’s important to remember that a ‘wrong’ choice at this point is not a disaster. IGCSEs can be taken at any stage of an academic or professional career, if a specific subject is required. Students can also drop or change courses if they find they have made a bad choice, as long as this is done as early as possible.
This early in an academic career it’s wise to demonstrate versatility. Most employers or universities want to see evidence of a rounded education, and given that serious subject specialisation starts at 17, IGCSE is the perfect opportunity to add dimension to a CV, and demonstrate ability in some essential life skills.
A foreign language is a very positive qualification – CIE’s English as a Second Language (ESL) IGCSE is one of the most widely taken in Cyprus, and for good reason. CIE recently hosted an extremely successful series of seminars in Cyprus which underlined the growing predominance of CIE’s ESL IGCSE in the island’s schools. More than 300 teachers, principals and school owners attended sessions on topics ranging from curriculum content to script marking.
In particular, delegates were keen to learn more about the support available to schools from CIE – as an exam Board – and plans to host workshops on more specific skills are now under way.
While the range of IGCSEs makes it easy to keep options open, it is also worth asking a few basic questions to help guide subject choice. For example, are you fundamentally an artist or scientist? Is a specific profession – such as teaching – already of interest? Will IGCSE be the final stage of an academic career? If so, what will happen next?
For students with clearer ambitions, subject choice is more important. For example, budding doctors or scientists should take all three sciences at IGCSE along with Mathematics (and possibly Additional Mathematics if they are strong in the subject). Future lawyers, financiers or accountants may find economics and history interesting and rewarding.
For those planning an artistic career IGCSEs in Art and Design (from Graphics to 3D studies), Drama or Music should be considered. Teachers and career advisers will be able to guide students on exactly which subjects to choose.
Above and beyond final subject choice is the issue of international recognition: this is a major concern among students and parents, and is frequently raised with CIE’s representatives in Cyprus. But international recognition is a further benefit of IGCSE. When a qualification is ‘recognised’ it is accepted as proof of academic ability by an educational or other organisation, and is valid in a variety of contexts ranging from A Level study to immigration. CIE IGCSEs are recognised by educational and professional organisations all around the world, and by key employers in Cyprus. Recognition isn’t a static achievement – Boards such as CIE have to maintain the recognition of their examinations, and the fact that CIE IGCSE continues to sustain its international status indicates its continued relevance and value.
Tom Eason is Director for Europe, Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), part of the world famous University of Cambridge. CIE offers a wide range of qualifications to students in more than 150 countries. Cambridge IGCSEs are recognised by educational and other professional organisations all around the world. More information can be found at www.cie.org.uk
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
