Fascinating Facts About Cambridge IGCSE
Now that Cambridge IGCSE is turning 20, you may be interested to know…
Total number of candidates to date: over 750,000
If you took just one IGCSE question paper for every student
Porto
who has ever taken an IGCSE exam and laid them all end to end, they would form a line 225km long. This is longer than Portugal is wide and is the equivalent of going up and down:
Coimbra
• •
Paris’s Eiffel Tower 347 times Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro 19 times
PORTUGAL
Lisbon
•
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur 249 times
347
• • •
Faro
Mt Everest 13 times Chicago’s Sears Tower 254 times Mt Cook, New Zealand, 60 times
19
249
13
254
60
In 2004/2005 …
• • Number of students worldwide: Nearly 100,000 Total number of entries worldwide: 324,047 (exceeding the entire population of the Bahamas) Number of countries that made entries: 124 Number of IGCSE examiners: More than 1,600 Number of IGCSE CIE Centres: Nearly 2,000
Top ten subjects worldwide:
• • • • • • • • • • Biology Business Studies Chemistry English as a Second Language English Literature First Language English Geography History Mathematics Physics
La literatura española es la asignatura más popular entre los panameños:
Despite the presence of Spanish-speakers in many countries worldwide, Panama is the only country where IGCSE Spanish Literature is the most popular subject.
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An A to Z of IGCSE
Ages – Although primarily taken by 16 year olds, Cambridge IGCSE is taken by students of all ages. Bilingual dictionaries are allowed in IGCSE examinations, except for languages – to the possible dismay of some students. Computers – CIE pioneered the use of computer simulation in teaching, training and testing: an IGCSE Biology practical demonstration was the first CIE teacher training event to be videostreamed; geography fieldwork simulations can be accessed via a web link for Centres without suitable local sites. The Duke of Edinburgh suggested the introduction of the Natural Economy syllabus on a visit to an early IGCSE conference. Equations – Mathematics is currently the most popular IGCSE subject worldwide. The International Fellowship Centre Award is an accolade CIE awards to Centres that have shown outstanding support for high-quality Cambridge education and that have consistently impressive candidate performance. CIE’s newest International Fellowship Centre is the Modern English School in Cairo. Global – The IGCSE is currently taken in 124 countries including the UK, a number that has risen every year since Cambridge introduced the IGCSE. The CIE Centres most distant from Cambridge, UK: East – Tonga; West – Mexico; North – Norway; and South – Chile. HM Forces stationed around the world submit a large number of entries to CIE. Submariners in the British Royal Navy have taken IGCSE examinations whilst underneath the polar ice cap. Cambridge’s ‘Alternative to Coursework’ option makes it ideal for HM Forces candidates on board ship or stationed in remote areas. Special marking arrangements had to be made, as the completed scripts could not be returned to CIE until the submarine had surfaced. Inaccessible – Not all CIE Centres are easy to reach – the most inaccessible is on the island of Tristan Da Cunha, where the dispatch of question papers has to coincide with the sailing schedule of a fishing trawler, the only vessel to visit the island ‘regularly’ – once every few months! In Jordan, Queen Rania sponsors CIE awards for the top IGCSE students in the country. In 1991, Kuwaiti students at CIE Centres successfully sat the IGCSE examinations, despite disruptions caused by the Gulf War that year.
Languages are a particular strength of IGCSE: 36 language syllabuses are currently on offer. Holographic metal strips and multi-tonal watermarks are just two of several security features used to prevent forgery of the highly valued IGCSE certificates. IGCSE is the national examination of Namibia, which has the largest candidate entry in the world. Online technology has become very important for reaching CIE’s international community. Currently CIE offers online training, online teacher discussion groups and online exam results announcements – a particularly popular service. Prizes are regularly awarded to outstanding students in a large number of countries, often in conjunction with a partner such as the British Council. CIE produces around 1,130,000 question papers every year, and nearly 10,000 oral tapes. Recognition – IGCSE is one of the most widely recognised international qualifications, accepted by employers, schools and universities worldwide. CIE offers 61 IGCSE subjects, more than any other provider. CIE holds nearly 100 face-to-face teacher training events each year. University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) is a department of the University of Cambridge. Varied – With a portfolio comprising over 60 subjects, the Cambridge IGCSE is one of the world’s most varied qualifications. www.cie.org.uk is one of CIE’s best used resources (approximately 1,000 hits a month), allowing Centres and staff to access information any time and from anywhere. Xchange is part of CIE’s website provision. This secure site is used by Centres as a means of submitting entry information, grade forecasts and internally assessed marks. Young – IGCSE is now 20 years old. CIE operates a Zero Defects performance standard – whenever a problem occurs the system is revised to ensure it never happens again.