History IGCSE: Special Arrangements for 2022 Exams

Because of the 2020 pandemic and lengthy school closures, there will be special arrangements for the Edexcel IGCSE examinations in Summer 2021 (only).

The basic principle is that candidates in 2021 will answer exam questions on three topics, not four. This will have an effect on the duration of one or both written papers and on the mark-scheme.

Option A – Choose two topics in Paper 1 as usual and in Paper 2 choose one topic in Section A.

Option B – Choose one topic in Paper 1 and in Paper 2 choose two topics (one from Section A and one from Section B) as usual.

But the Historical Investigation in Paper 2 (Module Two: The USA, 1918–41 in this course), is compulsory in both options.

You can therefore choose to drop EITHER one Paper 1 depth study OR the Paper 2 study in breadth. To put it another way, if you choose to omit the Medicine module, you pick Option A; otherwise, you pick Option B.

Depending on which Option you choose, one of your exams will last just 45 minutes. Here are those options in detail:

Paper 1A

1 hour and 30-minute examination comprising a mixture of extended writing and essay-based questions, based on two selected depth studies.

Paper 2A

45-minute examination comprised of one section, with a mixture of extended writing and essay-based questions. Section A is based on a selected historical investigation.

Paper 1B

45-minute examination comprising a mixture of extended writing and essay-based questions, based on one selected depth study.

Paper 2B

1 hour and 30-minute examination comprised of two sections, with a mixture of extended writing and essay-based questions. Section A is based on a selected historical investigation and Section B on a breadth study in change.

Students of this course have a choice between omitting one of the three non-compulsory modules or studying them all anyway and making a choice afterwards. Please discuss this with your tutor if you are uncertain of your best strategy.

These changes will not have any effect on the Assessment Objectives or the skills you will be expected to demonstrate.  So, even if you are uncertain whether you will take your exams in 2022 or 2023, you may commence your studies with confidence.