IGCSE Syllabus

IGCSE Syllabus

Developed by Cambridge International Examination (CIE) in 1988, IGCSE is a very popular English language curriculum. Over 10,000 schools in 160 countries are teaching the IGCSE syllabus. It is the most popular international qualification for 14 to 16-year olds offering them more than 70 subjects. The focus of the IGCSE curriculum is to offer a wide range of options to learners with different types of abilities, including students whose first language is not English.

The IGCSE curriculum allows the students to take a minimum of 5 and maximum of 14 subjects. The IGCSE ‘core’ curriculum consists of a First Language, Second Language, Mathematics, and one or more subjects in the area of science. English, Mathematics, and the Sciences are the IGCSE Core subjects. A student can also choose to study other subjects ranging from Social Sciences to Arts & Technology. For the schools also the IGCSE curriculum proves to be very flexible and it comes with excellent resources and training. Out of these 70 subjects offered by IGCSE, 30 are languages and the schools can choose to offer them in any combination.

Today, in this article, we’re providing you important and useful information about the IGCSE Syllabus for each subject. We suggest you go through the information carefully in order to plan your studies and the timetable.

IGCSE Curriculum Focus Areas

The IGCSE approach to teaching is to introduce the students to a variety of subjects and encourage them to make connections between them. IGCSE focuses on developing the student’s understanding, skill, and knowledge in the following areas:

• Subject content
• The application of knowledge and understanding to new as well as unfamiliar situations
• Intellectual enquiry
• The flexibility and responsiveness to change
• Working and communicating in English
• Influencing outcomes
• Cultural awareness

The Uniqueness of the IGCSE Syllabus

The IGCSE syllabus is designed keeping an international outlook in mind. However, it tries to retain a local relevance for each region. The IGCSE syllabus is developed for an international student body and steers clear of any kind of cultural bias.

IGCSE Syllabus

Now, let’s take a look at the IGCSE syllabus for each subject. For your benefit, we’ve put together the subject-wise detailed IGCSE syllabus in this section. Under each subject, you’ll find all the topics and chapters that are covered by IGCSE in that particular subject.

Here we go!

IGCSE Accountancy Syllabus

The purpose of accounting

Sources and recording of data

• The double entry system of book-keeping
• Business documents
• Books of prime (original) entry
• The ledger

Verification of accounting records

• The trial balance
• Correction of errors
• Bank reconciliation
• Control accounts

Accounting Procedures

• Capital and revenue expenditure and receipts
• Accounting for depreciation and disposal of non-current assets
• Other payables and other receivables
• Bad debts and provision for doubtful debts
• Valuation of inventory

Principles of financial statements

• Income statements
• Statements of financial position

Preparation of financial statements

• Sole traders
• Partnerships
• Limited liability companies
• Clubs and societies
• Manufacturing accounts
• Incomplete records

Analysis and Interpretation

• Summary of commonly used ratios
• Interpretation of accounting ratios
• Inter-firm comparison
• Interested parties
• Limitations of accounting statements

Accounting principles and policies

• Accounting principles
• Accounting policies

IGCSE Mathematics Syllabus

• Number
• Algebra and graphs
• Geometry
• Mensuration
• Co-ordinate geometry
• Trigonometry
• Matrices and transformations
• Probability
• Statistics

IGCSE Biology Syllabus

Characteristics and classification of living organisms

• Characteristics of living organisms
• Concept and use of a classification system
• Features of organisms
• Dichotomous keys

Organization of the organism

• Cell structure and organization
• Levels of organization
• Size of specimens

Movement in and out of cells

• Diffusion
• Osmosis
• Active transport

Biological molecules

Enzymes

Plant nutrition

• Photosynthesis
• Leaf structure
• Mineral requirements

Human nutrition

• Diet
• Alimentary canal
• Mechanical digestion
• Chemical digestion
• Absorption

Transport in plants

• Transport in plants
• Water uptake
• Transpiration
• Translocation (Extended candidates only)

Transport in animals

• Transport in animals
• Heart
• Blood and lymphatic vessels
• Blood

Diseases in immunity

Gas exchange in humans

Respiration

• Respiration
• Aerobic respiration
• Anaerobic respiration

Excretion in humans

Coordination and response

• Nervous control in humans
• Sense organs
• Hormones in humans
• Homeostasis
• Tropic responses

Drugs

• Drugs
• Medicinal drugs
• Misused drugs

Reproduction

• Asexual reproduction
• Sexual reproduction
• Sexual reproduction in plants
• Sexual reproduction in humans
• Sex hormones in humans
• Methods of birth control in humans
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Inheritance

• Inheritance
• Chromosomes, genes and proteins
• Mitosis
• Meiosis
• Monohybrid inheritance

Variation and selection

• Variation
• Adaptive features
• Selection

Organisms and environment

• Energy flow
• Food chains and food webs
• Nutrient cycles
• Population size

Biotechnology and genetic engineering

• Biotechnology and genetic engineering
• Biotechnology
• Genetic engineering

Human influences on ecosystems

• Food supply
• Habitat destruction
• Pollution
• Conservation

IGCSE Chemistry Syllabus

The particulate nature of matter

Experimental techniques

• Measurement
• Criteria of purity
• Methods of purification

Atoms, elements, and compounds

• Atomic structure and the Periodic Table
• Bonding: the structure of matter
• Ions and ionic bonds
• Molecules and covalent bonds
• Macromolecules
• Metallic bonding (Extended candidates only)

Stoichiometry

• Stoichiometry
• The mole concept (Extended candidates only)

Electricity and chemistry

Chemical energetics

• Energetics of a reaction
• Energy transfer

Chemical reactions

• Physical and chemical changes
• Rate (speed) of reaction
• Reversible reactions
• Redox

Acids, bases, and salts

• The characteristic properties of acids and bases
• Types of oxides
• Preparation of salts
• Identification of ions and gases

The periodic table

• The Periodic Table
• Periodic trends
• Group properties
• Transition elements
• Noble gases

Metals

• Properties of metals
• Reactivity series
• Extraction of metals
• Uses of metals

Air and water

• Water
• Air
• Nitrogen and fertilizers
• Carbon dioxide and methane

Sulfur

Carbonates

Organic Chemistry

• Names of compounds
• Fuels
• Homologous series
• Alkanes
• Alkenes
• Alcohols
• Carboxylic acids
• Polymers
• Synthetic polymers
• Natural polymers

IGCSE Physics Syllabus

General Physics

• Length and time
• Motion
• Mass and weight
• Density
• Forces
• Momentum (Extended candidates only)
• Energy, work and power
• Pressure

Thermal Physics

• Simple kinetic molecular model of matter
• Thermal properties and temperature
• Thermal processes

Properties of waves, including light and sound

• General wave properties
• Light
• Electromagnetic spectrum
• Sound

Electricity and magnetism

• Simple phenomena of magnetism
• Electrical quantities
• Electric circuits
• Digital electronics (Extended candidates only)
• Dangers of electricity
• Electromagnetic effects

Atomic physics

• The nuclear atom
• Radioactivity

IGCSE Economics Syllabus

Basic economic problem: choice and the allocation of resources

• Economic problem
• Factors of production
• Opportunity cost
• Resource allocation
• Choice
• Production possibility curves

The allocation of resources: how the market works; market failure

• market and mixed economic systems
• Demand and supply analysis
• Price elasticity
• Market failure
• Social and private costs and benefits

The individual as producer, consumer and borrower

• Functions of money
• Exchange
• Central banks, stock exchanges and commercial banks
• Labour market
• Motives for spending, saving and borrowing

The private firm as producer and employer

• Types and sizes of business organization
• Demand for factors of production
• Costs and revenue
• Profit maximization and other business goals
• Perfect competition
• Monopoly
• Advantages and disadvantages of increased scale

Role of government in the economy

• Government as a producer and an employer
• Aims of government economic policy
• Fiscal, monetary and supply-side policies
• Types of taxation
• Possible policy conflicts
• Government’s influence on private producers

Economic Indicators

• Price indices
• Inflation and deflation
• Employment and unemployment
• GDP, economic growth and recession
• GDP and other measures of living standards

Developed and developing economies: trends in production, population and living standards

• Developed and developing countries
• Absolute and relative poverty
• Alleviating poverty
• Population growth
• Differences in living standards

International aspects

• Specialization
• Current account of the balance of payments
• Current account deficits and surpluses
• Exchange rate fluctuations
• Protectionism and free trade

We suggest you immediately download the IGCSE syllabus for all the subjects from the link given below to give a head start to your preparations.

Link to download the IGCSE syllabus

Learn all about the CBSE board and which board to choose after Class 10.

Toppr wishes you all the best!