GCSEs in England are regulated by Ofqual, built on content set by the government and graded 9 to 1. IGCSEs, or International GCSEs, are separate qualifications from Pearson Edexcel and Cambridge, which set their own content and assessment. Neither is officially the harder one, and the universities quoted below accept IGCSEs as equivalent to GCSEs.
By Archie Dyer, founder of Cognivia Tutoring · Last checked 11 October 2026
Two different qualificationsOfqual says GCSEs and International GCSEs are not the same qualifications.
Different awarding bodiesGCSE: AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC. IGCSE: Pearson Edexcel and Cambridge.
GradingGCSE and Edexcel International GCSE: 9 to 1. Cambridge IGCSE: A* to G, with 9 to 1 versions.
Different papersPaper counts, calculator rules and tiers differ by qualification.
UniversitiesEdinburgh and Manchester both state they accept IGCSEs as equivalent.
What is the difference between GCSE and IGCSE?
The difference is who decides what is taught and how it is examined. Ofqual, the exams regulator in England, puts it this way: “GCSEs are based on content specified by the government and must be assessed in line with Ofqual’s rules. The awarding organisations that offer International GCSEs each decide the content for those qualifications and how that content is assessed, which may legitimately be different to GCSEs.”
GCSE compared with Pearson Edexcel International GCSE and Cambridge IGCSE
GCSE (England)
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE
Cambridge IGCSE
Awarded by
AQA, OCR, Pearson (Edexcel) and WJEC (Eduqas)
Pearson
Cambridge International
Content set by
The government, with assessment under Ofqual’s rules
Pearson
Cambridge
Board’s own description
Not applicable: a regulated qualification for England
“Designed specifically for international learners” (Pearson)
“The world’s most popular international qualification for 14 to 16 year olds” (Cambridge)
Grades
9 to 1
9 to 1
A* to G, with 9 to 1 versions of some syllabuses
Maths papers
AQA: three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes, one without a calculator
Mathematics A: two 2-hour papers, calculator allowed in both
Mathematics 0580: two papers, one without a calculator
Maths tiers
Foundation and Higher
Foundation and Higher
Core and Extended
Physics papers
AQA: two papers of 1 hour 45 minutes, Foundation or Higher tier
Two untiered papers, of 2 hours and 1 hour 15 minutes
Three papers, including a Practical Test or an Alternative to Practical paper
The school chooses the qualification and enters the student. In the UK, Ofqual wrote in 2019 that “International GCSEs are mainly taken by students in independent schools”, because they “have not counted in school performance tables since the corresponding reformed GCSEs became available”. They are also, in Ofqual’s words, “taken by many thousands of students across the world”. Cambridge states that neither version of its syllabuses is included in UK performance tables.
There is no official answer that one is harder. Ofqual’s position is that “GCSEs and International GCSEs are not the same qualifications, and so we believe it is not possible to say with any precision how the standards of the two compare”.
The boards make their own statements, and they should be read as the boards’ claims:
Pearson describes its International GCSE Mathematics A as “comparable to the UK reformed GCSEs in terms of the level of demand and assessment standards”.
Cambridge says: “We align the standards of Cambridge IGCSE with the GCSE qualification taken in England.”
When Ofqual compared grade standards in some International GCSEs and GCSEs awarded in 2015 and 2016, it found differences that “varied by grade, awarding organisation, subject and year”, and concluded: “There was no systematic pattern.” It has said it cannot repeat that analysis.
What can be compared is the structure of the exams, which is covered next. Whether one feels harder depends on the student: a student who is weaker without a calculator, for example, meets a non-calculator paper in GCSE Maths and Cambridge IGCSE Maths but not in Edexcel International GCSE Mathematics A.
What is the difference between GCSE and IGCSE Maths and Physics?
The main differences are the number of papers, the calculator rules, the tiers and, in Physics, how practical work is examined. The examples below use one GCSE specification from AQA and the two main IGCSEs.
Maths
GCSE Mathematics (AQA 8300): three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks each. Paper 1 is non-calculator; Papers 2 and 3 allow a calculator. Foundation tier covers grades 1 to 5 and Higher tier grades 4 to 9.
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Mathematics A (4MA1): two 2-hour papers, each worth 50%, with a calculator allowed in both. Foundation Tier targets grades 5 to 1 and Higher Tier grades 9 to 4. The Higher Tier content includes differentiation.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580): two papers, one of them non-calculator. Core candidates sit papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and are eligible for grades C to G; Extended candidates sit 2-hour papers and are eligible for grades A* to E. The Extended content includes differentiation.
Physics
GCSE Physics (AQA 8463): two papers of 1 hour 45 minutes and 100 marks, each worth 50%, at Foundation or Higher tier. Practical work is examined in the written papers: AQA says questions drawing on its required practicals “will count for at least 15% of the overall marks”.
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics (4PH1): two untiered papers, of 2 hours (61.1%) and 1 hour 15 minutes (38.9%), with a calculator allowed in both.
Cambridge IGCSE Physics (0625): three papers: multiple choice (30%), theory (50%), and either Paper 5 Practical Test or Paper 6 Alternative to Practical (20%). Core candidates are eligible for grades C to G and Extended candidates for A* to G.
For a student, the practical point is to find out the exact board, specification code and tier from the school, because revision materials and past papers are not interchangeable. The GCSE and IGCSE Maths page and the GCSE and IGCSE Physics page set out more boards in detail.
GCSEs in England have been graded 9 to 1 since 2017, with 9 the highest grade. Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs also use 9 to 1. Cambridge IGCSEs are graded A* to G, and Cambridge offers 9 to 1 versions of some syllabuses.
GCSE (England)
Ofqual’s guide says the bottom of grade 7 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade A, the bottom of grade 4 to the bottom of the old grade C, and the bottom of grade 1 to the bottom of the old grade G.
Pearson Edexcel
Pearson states that its International GCSEs “are equivalent to and benchmarked, grade for grade, against GCSEs”. That is Pearson’s own statement.
Cambridge
“Cambridge IGCSEs are graded A*–G around the world.” Schools in one of Cambridge’s administrative zones can choose 9–1 graded versions, which carry separate codes, such as Mathematics (9–1) 0980 and Physics (9–1) 0972.
Elsewhere in the UK
Ofqual’s guide notes that Wales and Northern Ireland use different GCSE grading scales.
The two UK universities checked for this guide both state that they do. Each university sets its own requirements, so these are examples, not a rule for every course.
University of Edinburgh: “We will accept International GCSEs (IGCSEs) and Level 2 Certificates as equivalent to GCSEs.”
University of Manchester: “We recognise International GCSEs (iGCSEs) as equivalent to UK GCSEs and consider them on a grade-for-grade basis.” It adds that higher grades may be required for applicants presenting International GCSE English as a Second Language.
Ofqual makes the general point: “Universities and employers are used to seeing many different qualifications on applications and deciding what value they place on them.” The boards make broader claims of their own. Pearson says its international qualifications are formally recognised by “all UK universities”. Cambridge says: “Leading universities and employers worldwide accept Cambridge IGCSE as evidence of academic ability.”
Check the course page. Where a course asks for a particular grade in English or Maths, the university’s own entry-requirements page says which qualifications and versions meet it. That page, not this one, is the authority.
Archie Dyer, the founder of Cognivia Tutoring and its only tutor, sat IGCSEs himself and achieved 10 A*s. He is now a second-year Theoretical Physics student at UCL, and tutors Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Economics at both GCSE and IGCSE, following the student’s own board, specification and tier. He does not tutor Biology.
GCSE and IGCSE lessons are the same price: one hour, one to one, at £40 online on Google Meet or £50 in person around Marylebone, London. A 5-pack of five lessons saves £15, at £185 online or £235 in person, and a 30-minute online trial is free with no card needed. No tutor can promise a grade. Cognivia Tutoring is independent of every exam board.
FAQ
GCSE vs IGCSE questions, answered
Neither is officially the harder one. Ofqual says GCSEs and International GCSEs are not the same qualifications, so it is not possible to say with any precision how their standards compare. Pearson describes its International GCSE Mathematics A as comparable to the UK reformed GCSEs in level of demand, and Cambridge says it aligns Cambridge IGCSE standards with the GCSE taken in England.
The universities checked for this guide do. The University of Edinburgh states that it accepts International GCSEs as equivalent to GCSEs, and the University of Manchester states that it recognises them as equivalent to UK GCSEs on a grade-for-grade basis. Each university sets its own requirements, so check the course page.
AQA GCSE Maths is three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes, one of them without a calculator. Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Mathematics A is two 2-hour papers with a calculator allowed in both. Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) is two papers, one without a calculator, at Core or Extended level. Both IGCSEs include differentiation at the higher level.
GCSEs in England are offered by four exam boards, AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC, under rules set by Ofqual. The two main IGCSEs are the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE and the Cambridge IGCSE, and each board decides its own content and assessment.
Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs are graded 9 to 1, the same scale as GCSEs in England. Cambridge IGCSEs are graded A* to G, and Cambridge also offers separately coded 9 to 1 versions of some syllabuses.
Ofqual wrote in 2019 that International GCSEs have not counted in school performance tables in England since the corresponding reformed GCSEs became available, and that in the UK they are therefore mainly taken by students in independent schools. They are also taken by many students outside the UK.
Yes. Archie Dyer tutors Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Economics at GCSE and IGCSE, but not Biology. Lessons are one hour and one to one, at £40 online or £50 in person around Marylebone, London, with a free 30-minute online trial.
Where to go next
Once you know which qualification and board your child is on, the pages below cover each subject in more detail.
