The Cambridge IGCSE, or International General Certificate of Secondary Education, is both an academic curriculum for children aged 14 to 16 and an assessment. Used worldwide, it is an international standard for schools who wish to prepare students to excel in life. It’s not unlike the UK equivalent of an American high school diploma, but the methods of teaching and learning differ vastly from those employed in American schools.
The benefits of an IGCSE curriculum are many. They include practical skills such as problem-solving, time-management, and learning to achieve success as part of a team. Moreover, this curriculum is key for young students who wish to pursue higher education as international students.
By enrolling your student in a school such as One World International School that utilizes the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum, you’re helping to ensure your child plays an active role in their own education. The IGCSE curriculum is over 30 years old and is currently the most recognized international curriculum in the world. Designed to place children in the driver’s seat of their education, it emphasizes curiosity, exploration and engagement. A student who scores well on the Cambridge IGCSE is not only prepared to face the challenges of life after graduation but to master them. Here’s how this unique curriculum can benefit your student.
The IGCSE is a Standardized, Internationally Recognized Curriculum
Regardless of where in the world your child chooses to continue their education, the IGCSE prepares them to succeed. Because the curriculum is the same worldwide, students have no trouble meeting the necessary college requirements. Standardized, and recognized internationally, this academic formula gives them the foundation to continue their studies at any college or university they select.
Students who opt for IGCSE Become Actively Engaged in Their Learning
One of the most advantageous features of the IGCSE is that it requires children to become active participants in the classroom. The teacher’s role is that of a facilitator, but the students do the heavy lifting in terms of learning. In the IGCSE classroom, children cross cultural boundaries, language barriers and more to collaborate effectively. They share their own cultures and traditions while being immersed in those foreign to them.
IGCSE Gives Students 70 Subjects from Which to Choose
The IGCSE curriculum generally offers a total of 70 subjects, including 30 languages, which help students develop a well-rounded understanding of the world. These subjects include:
- Science
- Mathematics
- Music
- Art & Design
- Economics
- Computers
- Drama
- Food & Nutrition
- World Literature
And many, many more. As part of an OWIS education, One World International School offers an intriguing selection of coursework from the IGCSE-approved subjects.
Regardless of your child’s first language, they’ll receive the support and the tools they need to prosper under this curriculum. Even more advantageous, students learn together in the same classrooms, regardless of language, religion, or race. As a result, they gain exposure to foreign cultures that they would otherwise not enjoy.
Students who master the IGCSE have learned to communicate effectively with peers from around the globe. They’re knowledgeable regarding the vastly different ways people live, work, and worship throughout the world. This makes them better citizens and more responsible employees. It minimizes cultural divisions once they’ve completed their education and taken their places in the real world.
IGCSE Helps Students Develop Essential Skills
Essential skills should be the focal point of every academic curriculum, which is why the IGCSE was developed with functionality in mind. Students not only learn subject content, but they also master ways of applying their knowledge to new situations. These students learn to be responsive, instead of resistant, to change. They’re experts at adapting to new situations and new people, and they have a heightened cultural awareness. Inquisitive and able to function well as part of a team, students easily transition to higher learning institutions or life in the real world.
IGCSE Prompts Students to Become High Achievers
High proficiency in English and other subjects is required to pass the IGCSE assessment, which means students who follow this curriculum are well prepared to pursue higher education. In addition, the IGCSE promotes hands-on learning and intuitive thinking. When your child is enrolled in this curriculum, they learn how to learn. Instead of rote memorization of facts, dates and statistics, they develop a strong foundation of skills upon which they then build. Skills such as questioning, reasoning and drawing conclusions become a natural part of everyday life. Children are more engaged because they’re interested in finding answers and solving problems, and less because they have homework they’re required to complete.
An IGCSE Curriculum Lets Your Child Personalize Their Studies
With so many subjects from which to choose, students have greater control over their studies. Able to select the subjects that most interest them and those that will most benefit them in future endeavors, OWIS students and others like them become more actively engaged and invested in the classroom. Through exploration, questioning and a more flexible course of study, children are better able to personalize the educational experience.
When children have control over what they study and how they learn, they become invested. Subjects emerge from the black-and-white pages of a textbook and take on vivid color. Answers have meaning beyond that of merely earning a good grade. Children become eager to question and to reason and to form opinions based on fact. Along the way, they develop the essential skills they need to be competitive in a global society.
This Curriculum Prepares Your Student to Be a Global Citizen
Schools such as OWIS that follow the IGCSE curriculum focus primarily on minimizing cultural separations. Whether barriers occur in language, tradition, or religion, IGCSE schools strive to bring children together as one global society. Upon graduation, students take that advantage with them into the practical world, which gives them an advantage, regardless of whether they choose to pursue higher education or seek immediate employment.
If you, or a family you know, are interested in learning more about the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum at One World International School, visit us online and like and share us on social media. At OWIS, we’re fostering the next generation of inquisitive adults, young people who have a realistic view of the world and all the opportunities it affords. Our students are immersed in globalization from our Primary Years Programmed onwards. They learn to embrace differences, instead of fearing them. They gain the skills needed to collaborate across nationalities and language barriers, and they become better, more effective citizens as a result.
Tomorrow’s world begins with you and your child, consider giving them the early advantage of an IGCSE curriculum. You’ll be amazed and delighted by all the things they go on to achieve.
