Edexcel IGCSE

About International GCSEs

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE (9–1) qualifications are comparable to the UK GCSE, with appropriate international content and assessment that will enable successful progression for learners.

Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs are studied in over 80 countries worldwide and in independent schools in the UK. Available in 37 subjects, they are equivalent, grade for grade, to UK GCSEs and accepted by universities globally. Aimed at learners aged 14 to 16, they provide the skills and knowledge needed to progress to A Levels, International A Levels, onto university and into employment.

Why choose Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs

Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs have been designed in collaboration with subject experts, teachers and university professors, to ensure that the content and assessment methods are appropriate and will enable successful progression for learners.

Designed for international students

Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs have ensured a content route that is appropriate for your learners with international topics and the use of culturally sensitive, local contexts where possible. This is to ensure that these qualifications are even more relevant and engaging for students around the world, allowing for learning in a local context to a global standard.

A more valuable 9–1 grading scale

Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs use the 9–1 grading scale which is also used for the Ofqual regulated GCSEs. The new scale was introduced by the UK government to raise standards and recognise outstanding performance. It improves differentiation between learners with a nine (9–1), rather than an eight (A*–G), point grading scale. This means that students are ideally placed to make progress to International A Levels (IAL) and to universities worldwide.

International GCSE and GCSE comparability

Pearson is pleased to offer a range of qualifications to ensure that their customers in the UK and internationally can choose according to their needs and contexts to support progression to further education, university and employment.

They redeveloped the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in parallel to the reform of England’s GCSE 9-1 suite of qualifications, enabling us to align the content and assessment. They were also the first awarding body to introduce 9-1 grading for International GCSEs as part of their work to ensure comparability with GCSEs. They use a consistent approach to designing, developing and awarding GCSEs and International GCSEs – so that you can be confident that standards are comparable.

In April 2019, UK NARIC (the UK National Recognition Information Centre) completed an independent audit and review of the comparability of Pearson Edexcel’s redeveloped International GCSEs to their redeveloped GCSEs using its well-established and rigorous methodology and considering key qualification and assessment design principles.

This research concludes that the Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs are comparable with the UK GCSEs and that grades 9-1 represent comparable standards of achievement across both qualifications. Specifically, in terms of design, UK NARIC states that similarities are clearly observed between the GCSE and International GCSE in relation to qualification size and duration, content, learning outcomes and assessment across all subjects.

UK NARIC also confirms that marking processes are in place to ensure consistency and fairness in the allocation of grades across the subjects. The introduction of the 9–1 grading system will enable greater differentiation for performance in the International GCSEs and its implementation and setting of grade boundaries follows a similar process to that established for the GCSEs.

In November 2019, The Department for Education (DfE) and HMC published separate findings comparing International GCSEs and GCSEs in England in 2018, which reflect much of their own recent analysis. They are pleased to incorporate the findings of these two reports into their existing work and would like to share with you how they are already taking steps to ensure comparability between International GCSEs and GCSE qualifications.

Unrivalled support resources, tools and services

Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs have world-class support includes subject advisors, the Pearson international school community, face-to-face and online training events and professional development courses, getting started guides, schemes of work, lesson plans, skills development support, exemplar marked responses and teacher guides. They also have curriculum matched, endorsed published textbooks and online teaching and learning resources.

Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs technology capability also allows us to provide unique services and tools such as our FREE Access to Scripts service, ResultsPlus exam performance tool, ResultsPlus Direct and examWizard exam preparation tool.

Developing Transferable Skills

Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs have supporting students to develop a range of transferable skills (such as problem solving, critical thinking, leadership and collaboration) as part of their International GCSE curriculum. These skills will ensure that students are better equipped to access higher levels of academic study, and will be able to demonstrate highly sought after skills to their future employers. Find out more about transferable skills

Approved by a panel of World Class Qualification experts

The design of our qualifications has been approved by a panel of World Class Qualification experts, a panel unique to Pearson Edexcel, who have ensured that our qualifications represent international best practice. We have also embedded transferable skills support throughout our qualifications, providing students with the opportunity to gain a wider set of skills through our academic curriculum, important for successful progression to A Levels, university study and employment.

Onscreen Mocks Service

Mocks are essential for exam preparation, to help students understand what to expect in the live exam and to support teachers to identify where to focus revision. This new service will lighten the load, provide consistency of marking across the full cohort, and results analysis will support student progression and teacher professional development.

Available for Pearson Edexcel International GCSE and GCSE Maths, English Language and English Literature from January 2022.