---
title: "Science education in England"
chunk: 7/14
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_education_in_England"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:21:10.973540+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

==== CCEA ====
CCEA provides the widest and most extensive GCSE science examinations; three routes are offered: single science, double science, and triple science. Only trilogy courses are available. For single science, one 1-hour paper each is offered for biology, chemistry, and physics, and one 2-hour paper is provided for the practical science exam, so in total, four papers. For double science, the candidate sits three papers each for biology, chemistry, and physics, but in each science, Paper 1 is 1 hour; Paper 2 is 1 hour and 15 minutes; and Paper 3 is a 1-hour practical examination (so nine papers in total). And for triple science, the candidate also undertakes nine papers, but the time durations are longer: Papers 1 and 2 are 1 hour and 15 minutes each at foundation tier and 1 hour and 30 minutes each at higher tier. And Paper 3, which is the practical exam, is 1 hour and 15 minutes.

==== Changes to GCSE science and its grading system ====
As alluded to earlier, in the mid-2010s, the GCSE science courses of the GCSE exam boards underwent significant changes. This was in part due to changes in the National Curriculum, of which one of the areas affected the most was key stage 4 (KS4). The revised version of the National Curriculum covered more content; the one for KS4 science was first published in December 2014 and a version specifically for GCSE combined science was first published in June 2015, and first implemented in September 2016. The increased content triggered a change in the GCSE grading system from A*–G to 9–1. Much more detail on the 9–1 grading system and how it differs from A*–G can be read here.

==== Overview of IGCSE science routes ====

This variant of GCSEs, as the name suggests, is geared towards international students (that is, students from outside the UK) although it is offered by many private schools in England. IGCSEs are equivalent in value to GCSEs and although state schools can offer IGCSEs, many choose not to because IGCSE results are not eligible for inclusion into school league tables. In England, two boards offer IGCSEs for science, Edexcel and CIE.

==== CIE (formerly CAIE) ====
CIE IGCSEs can be undertaken at either core or extended levels. The two levels are somewhat equivalent (although not necessarily identical) to GCSE foundation and higher tiers respectively. Regardless of level, three routes are available for CIE IGCSE sciences: combined, co-ordinated, and triple science. CIE's 'combined' science is equivalent to CCEA's single science; 'co-ordinated' science is equivalent to GCSE's combined science and CCEA's double science. For CIE combined science, the candidate sits three papers in total, and in each paper, biology, chemistry, and physics are on the same paper; the same thing goes for CIE co-ordinated science. Looking at the paper schedule, for core and combined, the candidate sits:

Paper 1, which is 45 minutes
Paper 3, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes
Paper 5, which is a practical exam and is 1 hour and 15 minutes, or Paper 6, which is 1 hour
For extended and combined, the candidate sits:

Paper 2, which is 45 minutes
Paper 4, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes
Paper 5, the practical exam of 1 hour and 15 minutes, or Paper 6, 1 hour
For core and co-ordinated, the candidate sits:

Paper 1, which is 45 minutes
Paper 3, which is 2 hours
Paper 5, the practical exam, is 2 hours, or Paper 6, which is 1 hour and 30 minutes
For extended and co-ordinated, the candidate sits:

Paper 2, which is 45 minutes
Paper 4, which is 2 hours
Paper 5 (practical exam), which is 2 hours, or Paper 6, which is 1 hour and 30 minutes
For triple science, the candidate sits three papers per science, so nine papers in total for all three sciences. Looking at the paper schedule for each science, for core and triple, per science, the candidate sits:

Paper 1, which is 45 minutes
Paper 3, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes
Paper 5 (practical exam), which is 1 hour and 15 minutes, or Paper 6, which is 1 hour
And for extended and triple, per science, the candidate sits:

Paper 2, which is 45 minutes
Paper 4, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes
Paper 5 (practical exam), which is 1 hour and 15 minutes, or Paper 6, which is 1 hour

==== Edexcel IGCSEs ====
Edexcel IGCSE sciences offer three routes, single, double, and triple science (just like CCEA GCSE sciences), but only one tier is available for each route. For single science, the candidate sits one paper for each science at 1 hour and 10 minutes per paper, so three in total. For double science, the candidate also sits one paper for each science at 2 hours per paper, so three in total. And for triple science, the candidate sits two papers per science: Paper 1 is 2 hours, and Paper 2 is 1 hour and 15 minutes, so six in total.