Choosing an Exam Board
Pearson Edexcel or Cambridge?
Choosing an exam board that suits your goals, requirements, and objectives requires considering a number of things in order to ensure the decision matches your needs and is accessible to your location.
Pearson Edexcel or Cambridge International
What to consider?
Exam Centre Accessibility
The first step is to ensure your chosen exam board offers exam centres accessible to you. Cambridge requires you to take exams at a physical centre, but Edexcel now offers remote invigilation for a wide selection of subjects, enabling students to take some exams from home. If you choose subjects that aren't available for online exams under the Edexcel exam board, or you would like to study under the Cambridge exam board, you will need to find and contact local centres to see if they accept private candidates and request exam admission for your child. Sitting exams at a physical centre may require some travelling if you don't have a local option. It is important to reach out to centres in advance before starting your courses to avoid disappointment or stress nearer the time.
We are able to enter students for online Edexcel examinations in the subjects available, but arrangements with examination centres must be made directly by parents
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If you would like to search for centres, please use the button below:
Curriculum Content & Learning Style
Different exam boards usually share similarities in content, but often have a few differing units, and it is important to consider which exam board would best fit your learning style. Cambridge (CIE) pushes critical thinking, focusing on academic inquiry and deeper analysis. Whereas Edexcel typically favours real-world application, structured questions, and problem-solving. It is a good idea to read through the syllabus content for both to make a comparison on which best meets your learning needs.
Accessibility & Flexibility
Both Cambridge and Edexcel offer exam centres worldwide, but Cambridge requires face-to-face attendance for all exams, whereas Edexcel offers online exams for a range of subjects as well as face-to-face exams. As a Pearson-approved online centre, we are able to enter students for their Edexcel exams. However, students choosing the Cambridge exam board will need to find and contact a centre themselves. Ensuring you have a local centre for any face-to-face exams may make the decision for you, as you may only have one or the other available locally.
Remote Invigilation
If you would like to sit exams from home, then Edexcel would be the best option to choose as they now offer a wide selection of subjects for remote invigilation from May 2026. This is a great opportunity for students who perform better in familiar environments and feel more comfortable without the distraction and stress of having to travel to a centre and sit exams with other students.
If you would like to learn more about remote invigilation, please use the button below:
Subject Availability
Some subjects are only available for either the Cambridge or Edexcel exam board. For exam Global Citizenship is only available for the Edexcel exam board, whereas Environmental Management is only available for the Cambridge exam board. If you aren't sure which subjects are offered for which exam board, please find the full list of subjects below.
Linear or Modular
Linear Exams
For International GCSE, students typically study the course over two years and then sit all required examinations at the end of the programme. This is the standard approach used in face-to-face schools. All Cambridge IGCSE qualifications follow this linear structure, and Edexcel International GCSEs often do as well.
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Cambridge International AS and A-Levels are also linear qualifications. Students may choose to take AS examinations at the end of the first year and complete the remaining assessments at the end of the second year to achieve the full A-Level. However, in some subjects, such as foreign languages, all examinations are taken at the end of the second year.
Modular Exams
Edexcel International GCSEs are also offered in a modular format outside the UK and through online schools. In a modular structure, students study specific sections of the syllabus and sit an examination for each unit before progressing to the remaining content and assessments.
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The syllabus content is the same for both linear and modular Edexcel International GCSEs; the difference lies only in the t order in which the material is taught and examined. A key advantage of the modular route is flexibility, as each exam can be taken independently and retaken as many times as needed. In contrast, the linear route requires all exams to be sat together, meaning if a student wishes to improve the result in one paper, all papers must be retaken.
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Edexcel International A-Levels are only available as modular.