Page 10 - Options Booklet IGCSE 2022-2023

Helping You Achieve
Helping Y ou Achiev e

subject you are considering. Be prepared for them to be brutally honest with you!

5. If you know what career you want to follow, you will probably find it easy to choose three or
four options. What to do about the last options?

Is there a subject which is new to you and which sounds interesting? If so, find out about it. It might
be a subject that apparently has no connection with the other subjects: perhaps it might be fun to
escape from those subjects and study something completely different. Is there any reason why an
Engineer should not have knowledge of History? But: does a Doctor really need to have studied
Economics, or is there something that might be better?

You are now entering an important phase in your education at JPGS. The options you elect to study
will take you through Years 10 and 11. At the end of these two years you will take IGCSEs in eight
to ten subjects. With these subjects, you will be able to go on to study AS and A level (hopefully at
JPGS; but in other countries as well) and then go on to University.

With a combination of good IGCSE passes, AS (year 12) and A-Level passes (Year 13), you will have
the necessary qualifications for university entry. At IGCSE level it is regarded as a higher level pass
if you obtain any of the following grades: A*, A, B, C.

Entry into University

For entry on to a Degree course in the UK, universities make conditional offers based upon full A-
Level results (A/S and A/2 combined). In general, they request a ‘suitable range’ of IGCSE subjects at
grade ‘C’ and above, including Mathematics and English. Usually, 5 IGCSEs is considered enough
because they are more interested in the results of your pre-university programme (A Level).

However; you must check the requirements for each university! For certain Degrees, there are cer-
tain expectations of IGCSE choices:

• Medicine / Dentistry / Veterinary / Pharmacy (and all things related): 3 Sciences at IGCSE are re-
quired: Biology, Chemistry and Physics;

• Architecture: Mathematics, Physics (often specified), Art / DT (often advised), or a portfolio to
showcase the level of your work;

• Engineering: Mathematics and then the Science pertaining to your specialisation in Engineering:
Physics, Chemistry, Biology;

• Computer Science: Mathematics, Physics (often mentioned);

Of course, you need to have an idea of a career path; as in order to select certain subjects at A Lev-
el, you will be expected to have an IGCSE in that subject also. So, if you have not taken Physics at
IGCSE, you could not then join the Physics A Level class.

The following pages give you information about the different subjects on offer.

10 Jeddah Prep and Grammar School