International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE)
The IGCSE is a two-year course prepared by Cambridge University for pupils aged 14 to 16. This is a broad-based, flexible programme designed to prepare students for subsequent pre-university courses. In San Silvestre School, this programme is followed in Forms III and IV, culminating with the external examinations taken entirely in English, this being a reliable and useful indicator for both the school and the pupils.
The IGCSE programme offers a large variety of courses, providing pupils with wide and well-balanced learning experiences. The following courses are offered within the IGCSE curriculum areas:
- Languages & Literature: English, Spanish, English Literature, Spanish Literature, French, Mandarin Chinese and Italian
- Mathematics: International Mathematics
- Humanities & Social Sciences: Geography, History, Economics
- Science: Coordinated Science (Double Award)
- Technology: Information Technology, Computer Science
- Professional & Creative: Art & Design, Music, Drama and Physical Education
The Cambridge IGCSE examinations include Italian and Mandarin Chinese, both are offered as optional subjects available from Form III in secondary. Mandarin Chinese IGCSE exam has been available at San Silvestre for more than 10 years and great results have been achieved.
In San Silvestre, students can take up to 9 IGCSE courses, obtaining a maximum of 10 IGCSE results as Coordinated Science is a double award. The average number being eight per pupil, seven being the minimum.
Our students’ results at IGCSE have been consistently above world averages and of that fact we are extremely proud.
AS Level
This one year course is taken by those students who sit the IGCSE French examination in Form III. It constitutes the first year of the two-year A level programme.
DELF
In Form IV, pupils who have done French IGCSE in Form III and will not be entered for French AS will do the DELF B1 course.
In Form V pupils who are following the Internal programme can opt for the DELF B1 or the DELF B2 courses depending on whether they have taken IGCSE or AS French examinations in Form IV. Both are communicative courses but the upper level also includes French literature.
Due to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, the IGCSE exams were cancelled in 2020.