O Level vs International GCSE: which one does your child take?

Students take the qualification their school or exam centre enters them for. Nobody has to guess which one it is: each subject on the statement of entry has a code, and the code tells you.

In Bangladesh, the two that families hear about most are Cambridge O Level and Pearson Edexcel International GCSE, and many students take a mix of the two. There is also a third qualification, Cambridge IGCSE. All three are single-subject exams usually taken at about age 16. But they are not interchangeable. Each has its own syllabus, its own papers and its own mark schemes, even when the subject has the same name.

Two exam boards are involved. Cambridge International sets both Cambridge O Level and Cambridge IGCSE. Pearson Edexcel sets International GCSE.

In Bangladesh, people often say "Edexcel O Level". What they mean is Pearson Edexcel International GCSE: the same qualification, under the name Pearson uses on its specifications. If a school says a student is "doing Edexcel O Level", look for a code such as 4CH1 or 4MB1 on the entry. That tells you exactly which specification it is.

Two things are easy to mix up here:

• Cambridge IGCSE is not Edexcel. It comes from Cambridge, not Pearson, and it is also not the same as Cambridge O Level. Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry is 0620; Cambridge O Level Chemistry is 5070.
• Pearson has modular versions of some subjects. Pearson's modular International GCSE Chemistry is 4XCH1 and its modular Accounting is 4XAC1. These are different qualifications from 4CH1 and 4AC1, with different papers. The code decides, not the subject name.

1. Find the statement of entry, or ask the school's exams office for the entry list. Each subject on it has a code.
2. Read the code. Match it against the table below.
3. Practise that code's papers. A paper from a different code in the same subject will have different content and a different structure.

If a code is not in this table, search for it on the board's own website. If you still cannot tell, ask the school. It is their entry, and they will know.

We do not rank them, and it is worth being careful of anyone who does while selling you something. They cover similar ground at a similar level, but each syllabus includes and leaves out different topics, and each sets its papers differently. For example, Cambridge O Level Chemistry has three papers per student and Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry has two.

If you are choosing, the useful questions are practical ones. Which qualification does the school enter students for? Which suits the way the student works? And for anyone planning to study abroad later, how does the college or university they have in mind treat it? Ask the school, or the institution itself, rather than relying on what other families have heard.

Many students in Bangladesh take some subjects with Cambridge and others with Edexcel. That can work, because each subject is examined separately. Whether it is possible depends on what the school or exam centre offers, so ask them.

The thing to watch is practice material. Keep each subject tied to its own code, so a Cambridge Physics student is not practising Edexcel Physics papers by mistake.

If your family lives in England, your child's school will usually teach the UK GCSE. That is a different qualification from International GCSE, with different specifications, even when the subject has the same name. Schools abroad that follow a British curriculum may teach UK GCSE, Cambridge IGCSE or Edexcel International GCSE. Ask the school which qualification and code each subject is entered for before you choose any course or book.

Eudika Learn has recorded courses and past-paper practice for Cambridge O Level and Pearson Edexcel International GCSE. It does not offer Cambridge IGCSE or UK GCSE courses. Each course is for one board and one code, and the code is on the course card, so you can match it against your child's entry.

• Browse past papers by board and subject, for example Cambridge O Level Chemistry or Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry.
• You can buy a Cambridge course in one subject and an Edexcel course in another. See how pricing works for prices and bundle discounts.