Cambridge International Education IG subjects and codes

Introduction

When selecting Cambridge International IG subjects, there is a lot of information that one needs to know about each subject: What is its code? When is it written? Is it available to private candidates? Is it available at core and extended levels? This article explains these issues and summarizes the information for various IG-Level subject offered by Cambridge International Education in a convenient table.

The information is applicable up to at least 2025. While I have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this information, please double check the information by consulting the Cambridge International website before committing yourself to a course of study or an exam.

You may also want to refer to the other articles on Cambridge International Education IG.

Bookmark this page and use it as an index and quick reference for all available Cambridge International IG level subjects!

Although Cambridge International Education offers over 70 IG-Level subjects, I have selected only the subjects that are offered with the A-G grading system. Note that Cambridge International Education uses the subject code codes for both the subject and the grading option - in this case the A-G grading system. (For more information on the two different grading systems offered by Cambridge International, please refer to the article on Cambridge International IG Grading options).

Note that mathematics and most of the science subjects are offered at two different levels - core and extended. Students taking core will cover the core material and can achieve up to a C-grade (60-69%) in the exams. Students taking extended cover the core and supplementary material and can achieve up to a A* (90-100%). I have indicated these subjects by a * after the name of the subject.

Syllabus

Cambridge International Education publishes the syllabus for each subject either yearly, for two years at a time or for three years at a time. These syllabi are available on the Cambridge International Educational website and must be consulted before a student begins their studies. Please see the article on Cambridge International Syllabi for more information about how to use the syllabi.

In the table below, I have given the dates of the different syllabi that are currently available on the Cambridge International Education website for each subject listed. For example, there are two syllabi available for Afrikaans second language. The one covers the years 2023-2024 and the second one covers the years 2025-2027.

it is very important to use the syllabus for the year that the student will be writing the exams. For example, students preparing to write Afrikaans in 2025 must use the 2025-2027 syllabus even if they start preparing for the exams in 2024.

Many subjects, although not all, require some prior knowledge. I have indicated this by stating "Prior K". Please refer to the particular syllabus for more information as to what prior knowledge is required for that particular subject.

Private candidates

Many of the Cambridge International IG subjects are available to private candidates. These are students who do not attend Cambridge schools but prepare for the exams independently. Private candidates must write the exams through a registered Cambridge International exam center. I have indicated on the table which subjects are available to private candidates (see key below). Subjects that are not available to private candidates usually require practical work or coursework which are often evaluated internally by the school and moderated by Cambridge.

I have indicated subjects that are available to private candidates by underlining the name of the subject and adding Pvt to the appropriate column,

Administrative zones

Cambridge International Education IG- and AS/A-Level exams are written across the globe in a 160 countries, which is quite an undertaking in terms of administration and working out a timetable to ensure that cheating does not occur! Cambridge International Education has divided the globe into six administrative zones, which are linked to time zones. Each zone has its own timetable. Note that some IG subjects are only available in certain zones - I have indicated this on the table.

You can find out which zone your country or region is in on the Cambridge International website. As examples, South Africa is in Zone 3 and Australia (Sydney) is in Zone 5.

Exam sessions

Cambridge International Education runs three exam sessions per year - March; May/June and October/November. The March session only applies to India and therefore I have not indicated this exam session in the table below. The May/June exam session and the October/November sessions applies to the world. The May/June exam session is also known as the summer exam session. Although South Africa is in the grip of winter during these months, the northern hemisphere and in particular Britain are enjoying their summer! The October/November exam session is the winter exam session (South African summer).

Some subjects are offered in both the May/June and October/November exam sessions while other subjects may be offered in only one of these exam sessions. For example, biology is offered in both the May/June and October/November exam sessions, while Afrikaans is only offered in the October/November exam session and French first language is only offered in the May/June exam session.

Please note in the table below that the exam sessions refer to when that particular subject is examined.

Key

Pvt - means that this subject is available to private candidates.

Prior K - stands for prior knowledge needed. Cambridge International does recommend prior knowledge for many of the IG subjects. Please consult the particular syllabus for more information as to what prior knowledge is expected in that subject.

* after a subject name indicates that this subject is offered at two different levels - core and extended. Students taking the core level, cover the core material and are eligible for a grade C. Students taking extended, cover both the core and supplementary material and are eligible for a grade A* .

# Indicates a subject that is available to private candidates provided that the accommodating exam center can make the appropriate arrangements to conduct and assess the speaking test and submit the required sample and paperwork to Cambridge for External moderation.

Note: if you are viewing this table on a mobile phone, you can make it more readable by rotating your phone to landscape view.