Course Guide

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to your Wolsey Hall Guide to the Cambridge IGCSE Maths Extended course. Please take the time to read through it carefully. It will explain the structure of the course, how to get the most out of it, and how your assignments will be assessed.

At the end of the guide you will find the Programme of Study which will show you how the course links both to the Cambridge syllabus and to your course book. The course will then lead you step-by-step through the syllabus by reference to the course book, to video links, and to quizzes and assignments.

By the end of the course, you should be able to work confidently in each of the following topic areas:

  • Number
  • Algebra and graphs
  • Geometry
  • Mensuration
  • Co-ordinate geometry
  • Trigonometry
  • Matrices and transformations
  • Probability
  • Statistics

SYLLABUS AND EXAMINATION

This Wolsey Hall course is designed to prepare you for the Cambridge IGCSE Maths 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 Mathematics (Graded A* to G) is 0580.

The examination code for IGCSE Mathematics (Graded 9 to 1) is 0980*.

*Exam code 0980 applies only to Zone 3 exam centres for exams from 2019 onwards. If you are taking your exam in Zone 3 you may choose which grading system you prefer when you register at an exam centre by selecting either exam code 0580 or exam code 0980.  If you are taking your exam in the other Administrative Zones you will take exam code 0580.

In your exam, you will sit two papers:

  • Paper 2 will be 1.5 hours long and is worth 35% of your overall grade.
  • Paper 4 will be 2.5 hours long and is worth 65% of your overall grade.

You will be expected to take along your calculator and geometrical instruments for these exams. Tracing paper will be provided.

YOUR COURSE BOOK AND RESOURCES

Wolsey Hall offers a unique model of offline and online resources to our homeschooling students – a model which is based on our many years’ experience of providing courses to students working from home.

Course Book

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

  • Cambridge IGCSE Maths, by Chris Pearce, (Collins, 3rd Edition, 2018); ISBN: 9780008257798

Throughout the course, we recommend that you try all the questions in the course book – the Programme of Study (see below) will highlight which pages to read for each Module.

Resources

In addition to your course book, you will also find extra resources on Canvas which will support your learning.  Please see General Resources for login details to subscription sites.

You can make use of the extensive exam preparation material to help you prepare for your final examination. You will find past papers as well as their mark schemes in the Exam Preparation Module.

You will need to purchase a calculator for the course and your exams. Your calculator MUST NOT have:

  • language translator
  • algebra manipulation
  • communication with internet
  • databank
  • dictionaries
  • mathematical formulas

Since there are many models available, to make it easier for you we recommend the following models:

Casio FX-83 series; Casio FX-85 series; Aurora SC582; Sharp ELW531 series; Sharp EL53 and EL52 series

You should not need to spend more than £20 on your calculator.

STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE

You will find all the materials for your Course uploaded onto our online learning system - Canvas. Once you have read through this Course Guide and downloaded the Programme of Study, you are ready to begin the course.

The Course is divided into twelve Modules which cover one section of the syllabus at a time. These IGCSE Maths 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:

  • Reading – this section will include both the page references and required activities from your course book.
  • Tutorials – there will be links to resources that will enhance your understanding of key concepts and will give you an opportunity to apply your knowledge.
  • Practice – this section is for those students who would like to extend their knowledge and understanding of that topic material. We would encourage those students aiming for high grades to work through all our extension exercises.

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

DOWNLOAD YOUR PROGRAMME OF STUDY