Course Guide

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to your Wolsey Hall Guide to the Cambridge IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences Part One course. Please take the time to read carefully through this guide. It will explain how the course is structured, how to get the most out of the course and how your work will be assessed. At the end of this guide you will find the Programme of Study for the course which shows how the course links to the CAIE syllabus.

This course will lead you step-by-step through the syllabus by way of video links, quizzes, assignments and, of course, the Course Book so that by the end you are confident and keen to enter the exam to show off all you have learnt.

To the inquiring mind Science is a fascinating subject on many levels.  How does the heart pump blood around the body? What basic substances make up the world we live in and how do they interact? What is sound? What makes some fireworks have blue stars and others yellow?  These are just some of the fundamental questions that are covered by the scientific study of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, which you will cover on this course. You will learn about the basic principles of each subject through a mix of theoretical and practical studies. The course will enable you to better understand the technological world we live in and take an informed interest in science and scientific developments.

Cambridge IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences gives learners the opportunity to study Biology, Chemistry, and Physics within a scientifically coherent syllabus that is accepted by universities and employers as proof of essential knowledge and ability.  We have carefully selected your course textbook; put many resources on CANVAS to help reinforce the material in the book; creating exciting home experiments to help you apply your learning; and are always just an e-mail away from answering questions about any topics that you might be finding difficult.

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

  • Discuss the ways in which Chemistry, Biology, and Physics affect our lives.
  • Understand the importance of experimenting logically and ‘scientifically’.
  • Communicate in a scientific way.

SYLLABUS AND EXAMINATION

This Wolsey Hall course is designed to prepare you for the Cambridge IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences examination which you will sit at a Cambridge exam centre.

It is vitally important that you become familiar with the syllabus  which can be found here.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE:

  • The examination code for IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences (Graded A* to G) is 0654.
  •  The examination code for IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences (Graded 9 to 1) is 0973*.

*Exam code 0973 applies only to Zone 3 exam centres for exams from 2019 onwards.  Students taking their exam in Zone 3 may choose which grading system they prefer when they register at an exam centre by selecting either exam code 0654 or exam code 0973.  Students taking their exam in the other Administrative Zones will take exam code 0654.

In your exam, you will sit three papers:

  • Paper 2 (extended) is worth 30% of your overall grade. This is a multiple-choice paper
  • Paper 4 (extended) is worth 50% of your overall grade. This is a structured-question paper.
  • Paper 6 is worth 20% of your overall grade. This is the written Alternative-to-Practical paper.

YOUR COURSE BOOK AND RESOURCES

Wolsey Hall offers a unique model of offline and online resources to our homeschooling students – a model which we have developed based on our many years’ experience of providing home schooling courses to students.

Course Book

Each subject specialist team carefully selects the best course book from which you will study. The course book for your Co-ordinated Sciences course is:

  • Combined and Co-ordinated Sciences Course Book, by Mary Jones, Richard Harwood, Ian Lodge and David Sang (OUP, 3rd Edition, 2017);
    ISBN: 9781316631010

The questions at the end of each sub-section in the course book are best attempted as each double-page spread is completed, but they are not compulsory. The answers to these questions can be found on CANVAS and the CD-ROM. The CD-ROM also has a range of useful resources including:

  • Quizzes at the end of each section
  • Answers to longer examination style questions
  • Revision check lists
  • Glossary
  • There are activities in purple boxes. You should review these and consider the questions asked within them. Some you may be able to try although for most the course offers alternatives.

In addition to your course book, we have located and also written a wide range of resources to support your learning. These will be pointed out in the Module and you should make use of them alongside your course book to ensure that you get the very best out of your course.

Recommended Additional Resources

If you wish to purchase additional books to assist with your understanding and revision, we would recommend the following books which accompany your Coursebook and can be purchased online for £7.95 each:

  • Cambridge IGCSE Combined and Co-ordinated Sciences Physics Workbook, David Sang (OUP, 2017); ISBN: 1316631060
  • Cambridge IGCSE Combined and Co-ordinated Sciences Biology Workbook, Mary Jones (OUP, 2017); ISBN: 1316631044
  • Cambridge IGCSE Combined and Co-ordinated Sciences Chemistry Workbook, Richard Harwood & Ian Lodge (OUP, 2017); ISBN: 1316631052

Subscriptions

Wolsey Hall has subscribed to Twig Films to allow you to watch the short films that this company has produced covering many different aspects of chemistry. There are links to these in the Resources.

STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE

All the files required for your Course are uploaded onto our Learning Management System, Canvas. Once you have read through this guide and downloaded the POS then you are ready to begin the course.

The Course is divided into nine Modules which cover one section of the syllabus at a time. These IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences Part One Modules will help you to get the most out of your Course Book. Each Module is subdivided into Topics so that you can study the course in manageable chunks. Each Topic is set out as follows:

  • The Introduction sets out the learning objective of the topic and how it applies to the syllabus and final exam.
  • The Reading section will include both the page references and required activities from your course book.
  • Links to resources that will enhance your understanding of key concepts and give you the opportunity to apply your knowledge.

At the end of each Module, you should complete the End of Module Quiz to test your understanding of material covered in the module. This is a multiple-choice activity that can be completed as many times as you wish to ensure that you have achieved all the learning goals for the Module.

HOW YOUR WORK IS ASSESSED

Your progress will be assessed by completing an assignment at the end of each Module.  We recommend that you do NOT look at the assignments until you've studied all the topics in the Module. This will ensure that you focus on everything you need to know for the exam. If you focus only on what you need to know to do well in the assignment, you will miss important elements in each Module that you need to know and understand.

The assignments have been designed to help you prepare for your final examination – many of the questions are based on past exam papers. They will also help you develop the all-important exam technique which will help you to understand just what the examiner is looking for. We do not expect you to complete your assignments without referring to your notes or Course book. However, we encourage you to rely less on these as you progress through the course. By your final assignment you should be able to work without reference to any additional notes.

The assignments allow you to think critically about what you have learned and will enable your tutor to see how well you are progressing. Your tutor will mark your assignments and provide you with detailed feedback. Once you have had your marked assignment returned, you will be able to access the Mark Scheme and/or a Specimen Answer (an A-grade piece of work). You should reflect carefully on your tutor’s feedback and apply it in your future assignments.

We ask that you do not submit multiple assignments at the same time. It is very important that you reflect on your tutor’s feedback before beginning each new assignment, so that you can incorporate their tips for improvement into each new piece of work.

You should read the assignment questions carefully and answer them to the best of your ability, providing relevant examples where necessary. If you don’t do well in your first assignment - don’t worry - your tutor is there to provide advice.

All assignments are submitted via Canvas – you should consult the Canvas Guide for more information.

HAPPY TO HELP

When you study a Wolsey Hall course, you are never alone! There are lots of people who are willing to help you. Everyone is on your side! 

  • Tutors: At Wolsey Hall, all our tutors are friendly and knowledgeable. They are subject experts and you should not be shy about asking them questions about your course. You will meet your tutor via a video call and you should contact them if you have any questions.
  • Student Progress Managers: You have already been assigned a Student Progress Manager who can help with your assignment schedule.
  • Exams Officers: Wolsey Hall’s Exams Officers are here to help students with any queries regarding exam centres.
  • Canvas Help Desk: Canvas is a great virtual learning environment, but we understand that sometimes, even the best things can go wrong! If you have any problems with Canvas (e.g. uploading assignments or unable to access resources) you should submit a Canvas Help Ticket.

For information about how to create and submit a Help Ticket, please refer to the Canvas Guide.

We hope you’ll enjoy your course and studying at Wolsey Hall. We wish you the best of luck in your studies and success in your examination.

The Wolsey Hall Team

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