IGCSE Private Candidate Watch

(Original post by bomberdoom)
I'm an Indian student and wish to take IGCSE exams in various subjects. I have tried contacting the centre through e-mail but they have been most unhelpful. As a private candidate I'm completely in the dark regarding the specifications and the papers. I'm very confused regarding certain subjects such as mathematics and English. The science subjects/qualifications are not that hard to figure out, as it is given very clearly in the e-spec. Also, I will be self studying, so I don't know what books I have to order and which qualifications I'm supposed to register for, and also which papers (tier?) I'm supposed to register for. The reason for this is because there are many qualifications for the same subjects, such as Mathematics A and/or B, English Language A and/or B etc.

I'm confused about a few things and have a few questions, such as should I be doing Mathematics A or B, and which book should I be ordering, the Edexcel IGCSE mathematics A or Mathematics B book? Similarly, I see commerce as a subject mentioned on the IGCSE page but I am unable to find any book for it. Has it been stopped and replaced by Business Studies, or discarded? Is it stillbeing continued? Also, I would like to take the paper in Further Pure Mathematics and do not know what book/s are supposed to be used for it's prepration.
Similarly, is Mathematics A a seperate qualification form Mathematics B, with two different tier of papers in each and does it lead to two seperate certificates/qualificationsor one? Are there two or three qualifications in total for mathematics i.e. Mathematics A, Mathematics b and Further Pure Mathematics, or one of Mathematics A/B and Further Pure Mathematics. Which one should I be studying (which book to order, the A or B book?) ?
I understant that there are two tiers of papers so being a private candidate do I have to decide which tier of paper to register for and judge for myself i.e. know which one I should register for and what my capability is, or does the centre have some set rules pertaining to which one you could register/apply for?

My questions conerning the English qualification are the same. I wish to start studying and would like to order the necessary books and material. Could someone help me with the following/above and let me know which one I should be attempting or which one I should be preparing for and why?

I would appreciate any help and was wondering if I could get some more help (answres) withquestions regarding the History, Commerce , Economics Qualifications.

(Original post by Data)
Maths A and Maths B are parallel qualifications, there is no point doing both and which you choose is a matter of personal preference. Further Maths would be an optional extra. The same applies to the different English options. I suggest you have a good look at the information on Edexcel's website to try and decide.

If you wish to be a private candidate then all centres will do for you is provide a venue to take exams. You pay money to enter exams, they arrange the papers and the desk. It is entirely up to you what subjects and tier you choose.

I notice from Edexcel's website that Commerce is not available to UK students after 2014, but that implies that it will continue to be available to overseas students.

(Original post by bomberdoom)
Hi, thanks for replying.

I have still not been able to get any clarity on this matter. In fact, they do not look like parallel qualifications for two reasons. Mathematics B does not have a foundation tier, and Mathematics A has no Trigonometry whatsoever.
How do students decide which one to opt for? There must be some reaosn or method for choosing between mathematics A Higher and mathematics B.

I have taken A level Mathematics and achieved an A, however, I really struggled through it and a lot of the knowledge and foundation is lacking in many areas. I have forgotten certain topics such as Geometry and Mensuration and it is required by me to study them and refresh my memory.

Could you guide me on this matter? Which will be better for foundation purposes? I did not study any Geometry (plane/Euclidian)and mensuration at the A level. I do not need to revise trigonometry however, which is taught in Mathematics B.

Which is the easier and which is the harder option, between Mathematics A higher and Mathematics B, and why is it considered harder or easier? I have to take these exams for different reasons, and would really appreciate if someone could give me the correct knowledge so that I can proceed with buying the books. My need is seperate and different, mostly for filling in the knowledge gaps and for covering the concepts that I did not study (or even need, for e.g. mensuration was barely used in differential equations as the A level course was mostly algebra, trigonometry and calculus). I can then go trhough the specifications and see which one is best suited to my purpose.

I had another question concerning the Edexcel mathematics certificate. They seem to have one as they have one for English (parallel with English Language A/B specs), hence my initial large post. Here is the link for it. It says that it is par with the Mathematics A spec.

(Original post by Data)
Sorry, as I work in a UK state school I have no detailed knowledge of IGCSEs as they are not a course our students can take. Assuming it works in the same way as GCSE and A level specifications then Maths A and Maths B will be different but parallel qualifications. Schools will pick whichever one they think will suit their students best. As a private candidate you would have to do the same.

The Certificate IS available to UK state schools and is an IGCSE in all but name. I suspect it is only available in the UK. The reasons it isn't called an IGCSE are purely political.