Studying the sciences: deciding on Edexcel vs Cambridge

A few people have asked whether I’d recommend Edexcel or Cambridge for the sciences. It depends is the short answer. There isn’t a ‘better’ board or ‘right’ course, it’s more a case of which specification suits your learner best. (For that matter, this applies to most subjects where there is a choice of boards available).

I recommend investigating the two main board available to home educators – Edexcel and Cambridge – comparing the syllabi and downloading papers to see which you prefer. Having said that, I’ve put together my thoughts, based on our experiences, on the pros and cons of each board. I hope you find it helpful! 🙂

*Pros and cons*

• Cambridge pros
• The Cambridge spec hasn’t changed in years so there are lots of past papers to practise from which are freely available via file-sharing sites online
• Candidates sit three shorter papers, one of which is multiple choice, which may suit your young person better, (this style of assessment may be preferable, but don’t assume a multiple choice paper represents an easier option!)
• Cambridge have a separate Alternative to Practical paper (vs practical questions mixed in with theory as with Edexcel)
• some questions may be more transparent compared to Edexcel which can use wordier questions, so easier to gauge what’s required *Cons*:
• more content to learn with Cambridge, (though this may be an advantage if you’re planning to take sciences at A levels so the jump is not so great and the transition is easier) (side note: be aware there is quite a lot of chemistry involved in biology at A level)
• Some tougher questions, but lower boundaries, than Edexcel so swings and roundabouts here!
• There aren’t as many centres offering Cambridge, so this may be a consideration if you local centre doesn’t offer Cambridge, but this, of course, need not be an issue if you are willing to travel to a centre

*Edexcel pros and cons*

Pros

• Two longer papers (may be a plus point or downside depending on your

preference/perspective)

• Practical questions mixed in with theory (as opposed to a separate alternative to practical paper as is the case with Cambridge)
• Easier questions, (but higher boundaries compared to Cambridge – so difference here may cancel out)
• Some questions, particularly since the spec change, can seem vague so it’s hard to establish precisely what examiners are looking for (though this potentially only applies to a few questions, most are straightforward)
• The spec was updated a few years ago, so there aren’t as many papers available
• Papers, mark schemes and examiner reports are not as easily accessible as the most recent papers of the limited number available are usually locked on the Edexcel site, so there are a much smaller number of past papers to practise with (papers aren’t freely available via file-sharing sites as they are for Cambridge)

*Additional points to note:*

• There is a mapping document which compares the old and new Edexcel specifications, highlighting points of difference. There isn’t a significant difference between the old and new syllabus, so older papers can still be used for revision and past paper practice, so long as you’re familiar with the tweaks that have been made to the syllabus

Suffice it to say DD1 did Edexcel biology, DD2 sat the new, so I ordered the textbook for the new spec only to find it was a case of ‘spot the difference’ between the books –most annoying! The changes made are largely very minor.

My older daughters sat Cambridge physics and chemistry because they sat the exams not long after the new spec was introduced and we wanted to have lots of papers to revise and practise with, this was always a major plank of our revision strategy.

DD1 took Edexcel biology pre spec change and DD2 also sat Edexcel because we were already familiar with that spec and by this time, there were more Edexcel new spec papers available, though still not a huge amount. However, we used old spec papers too, bearing in mind the changes that had been made, and did not find it to be a problem. Both DD1 and DD2 got top grades for all three sciences.

If you have taken the sciences, it would be great to share your experiences to benefit others. Which board did you choose and why?