11th September 2023
Dear Parent or Carer
You may have read that an island wide decision was taken to move to the Edexcel Science specification from September 2022. This replaced the Cambridge iGCSE that was studied previously.
I am writing to make you aware that this qualification is graded differently, namely a 9-1 number system is used in place of grades A*-G. A grade ‘9’ is the highest grade and a grade ‘1’ the lowest. The table below highlights how the new 9-1 grades compare to the old A*-G.
Some other important information:
- All students will sit their exams at the end of Year 11
- Students studying separate sciences will achieve a separate grade for Biology, Chemistry and Physics, therefore attaining 3 GCSEs
- Students studying Combined science will study Biology, Chemistry and Physics. They will achieve a double award, worth 2 GCSEs
- Students that study Separate and Combined science will have the opportunity to progress to A level
- The GCSE (9-1) Sciences Parent guide can be viewed here
How can I support my child to succeed in GCSE science?
- Buy the discounted revision guide which will be available on Parent Pay in the next 2 weeks
- Review your child’s weekly science homework with them
- Encourage your child to complete the extra tasks on “active learn” (username and password in their science book)
- Make sure your child regularly visits the specification which is available on the Google Classroom and is attached to their science exercise book
Many thanks for your continued support.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs K Marshall
Faculty Leader of Science