Studying O Level or IGCSE from abroad: a guide for Bangladeshi families

Families who have moved from Bangladesh often want the same Cambridge or Edexcel route their child would have taken at home. Before you choose any course, tutor or website, find out which exam your child will actually sit, and where.

Three things decide which course and which past papers are right: the qualification, the exam board and the syllabus code. Cambridge O Level, Cambridge IGCSE and Pearson Edexcel International GCSE are three different qualifications, each with its own syllabus and papers. What many families call "Edexcel O Level" is Edexcel International GCSE. A code such as 5070 is Cambridge O Level, and a code with letters, such as 4CH1, is Edexcel International GCSE.

Once you have the codes, the rest is simpler, because you can check that a course matches them before you pay.

Ask the school which qualification and code each subject is entered for. The exams office can usually give you the entry list.

A school in England 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. International and British-curriculum schools in other countries may teach Cambridge IGCSE, Edexcel International GCSE, Cambridge O Level, or a mix. Do not assume: ask for the codes.

Eudika Learn covers Cambridge O Level and Pearson Edexcel International GCSE only. It does not teach UK GCSE or Cambridge IGCSE. If your child's codes are for either of those, our courses are not the right match, and it is better you know that now.

Some families abroad enter their child for exams privately. This can happen when the local school teaches a different qualification, or when a child moves partway through and the family wants to stay on the same route.

A private candidate is entered through an exam centre that accepts private candidates, not through a school. What each centre offers, including qualifications, sittings, fees and deadlines, varies by country and changes from year to year. Ask Cambridge, Pearson or a local exam centre before you plan around a sitting, and ask early.

For science subjects, ask one more question: how will the practical part be assessed? Edexcel International GCSE Biology and Chemistry have no laboratory exam, because practical skills are tested in writing inside the main papers. For Cambridge O Level sciences, ask the centre whether your child would sit the laboratory paper or the written Alternative to Practical paper.

Most of online study does not depend on where you live. On Eudika Learn:

• Signing up. Phone sign-up needs a Bangladeshi mobile number, but you can sign up with an email address and a password instead.
• Recorded courses. Lessons are on video, with no fixed timings, so time zones do not matter. They play on a phone, a tablet or a laptop.
• Past papers. Past papers are practised on screen. Multiple choice is marked at once, and written answers are checked against the official mark scheme.
• Practicals and simulations. The virtual labs and simulations run in the browser, and three labs are free to try without signing in. They help if your child has little laboratory time, but they do not replace a school laboratory.
• No country blocks. The site does not restrict access by country.

Some parts of Eudika Learn are built around families in Bangladesh. It is better to say so here than for you to find out at checkout.

• Live classes. These are set up for families in Bangladesh. Fees are paid monthly by bKash, the booking form asks for a Bangladeshi mobile number, and class times are in Dhaka time.
• Prices. All prices are in Bangladeshi taka.
• Paying by card. Email support@eudikalearn.com before you buy and we will tell you whether your card will work.
• Exam sittings. Each course is sold for a particular exam sitting, and access lasts until one month after the last paper of that sitting. Check that the sitting on offer is the one your child is entered for.
• Refunds. Every course purchase has a 7-day refund window, and refunds are made in taka to the payment method you used. The details are in the refund policy.

Recorded lessons and past-paper practice are not live, so time zones are rarely the problem. The bigger risk is drift. Nobody is waiting for your child at a set hour, so the routine has to come from home. A few habits help:

• Fix two or three regular study slots each week around the school day, and keep them.
• Agree one short weekly check. Sit with your child, open their account together, and ask them to explain one question they got wrong and now understand.
• Any time shown on the site, such as a live-class time, is in Dhaka time. Convert it before you plan around it.
• If your child is at a school abroad, tell their teachers what they are using at home, so the two work together rather than pull in different directions.

Email support@eudikalearn.com about accounts, payments and refunds, and hello@eudikalearn.com about anything else. You can also contact us or read more about Eudika Learn.

For anything about the exam itself, such as entries, sittings, fees or the practical paper, ask your child's school, the board or your exam centre. They set those rules; a course provider does not.