durusi:
عربي

IGCSE tutoring · Dubai and Abu Dhabi

IGCSE tutors in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Get matched with a mentor Message us on WhatsApp

IGCSE tutoring

Two grading scales are in use here, and your school has already picked one.

IGCSE is what most British curriculum schools in the UAE finish Year 11 on, and almost every decision that shapes the result is made before the exam season starts. Durusi matches a mentor who sat the same board and specification, at home in either city or online across the country.

See what a lesson costs

Choose your city

Where is your child at school?

Exam

IGCSE, Dubai

Where the schools run from Jumeirah to Academic City, and the drive decides as much as the subject.

 Exam

IGCSE, Abu Dhabi

Where the capital's schools sit across the islands, and the crossing is part of the timetable.

Grades, tiers and series

What is settled before the first paper is opened

  1. 01

    A star to G and 9 to 1 are both live

    Cambridge has let schools in this zone choose between A* to G and 9 to 1 since June 2019, and the syllabus and the papers are identical either way. A school can even enter some candidates on one scale and some on the other, in the same subject, in the same year. Pearson Edexcel International GCSE runs on 9 to 1 throughout. So two children at two schools in one city can sit the same subject and bring home grades that do not line up.

  2. 02

    Broadly equal is not the same as equal

    A* sits roughly at 9, an A covers 7 and 8, and a C sits around 4. Cambridge publishes those as broad equivalences rather than a conversion table, because there is no exact mapping between the two scales. When a school reports a target in one and a sixth form asks for the other, that gap is where a family loses a fortnight to a confusion nobody created on purpose.

  3. 03

    The tier caps the grade before the paper starts

    Many subjects are tiered. On Cambridge, Core papers award only C to G and Extended awards A* to E. On Edexcel, Foundation runs 5 to 1 and Higher runs 9 to 3. The entry is made months ahead, so a child sitting the wrong tier has a ceiling on the result that no amount of revision moves. Checking the tier against a mock is the most useful ten minutes a parent can spend in Year 10.

  4. 04

    Two series a year, and the second is not a punishment

    Entries run in May and June, and again in October and November. A subject that went wrong in the summer can be retaken in the autumn without repeating the year. The March series some countries get is not a UAE series, so the autumn sitting is the real second chance, and the planning for it starts in July rather than in September.

  5. 05

    The certificate does not carry the context

    A certificate names the subject and the grade. It does not name the tier, and it does not say which of the two scales the school chose. A sixth form or a university reads a letter or a number with none of that behind it. Which is why the conversation about board and tier belongs in Year 10, not in the August that the results arrive.

Lessons run at home in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, or online anywhere in the UAE.

FAQ

IGCSE tutoring in Dubai, answered

  • 01

    Is IGCSE graded A* to G or 9 to 1?

    Both are in use in the UAE. Cambridge lets schools in this zone choose either, with identical papers, and Pearson Edexcel International GCSE is graded 9 to 1. Tell us which your school uses and we match a mentor to that board, because the grade boundaries and the mark schemes are not interchangeable.

  • 02

    What is the difference between Core and Extended, or Foundation and Higher?

    It is the tier, and it caps the grade. Cambridge Core awards C to G and Extended awards A* to E. Edexcel Foundation runs 5 to 1 and Higher runs 9 to 3. The school enters a candidate months before the exam, so if the tier is wrong the ceiling is fixed no matter how the revision goes. It is worth checking after every mock.

  • 03

    Can my child retake an IGCSE without repeating the year?

    Yes. There are two series a year, May and June and then October and November, so a subject that went wrong in the summer can be sat again in the autumn while the rest of the timetable carries on. The planning starts in July when the results land, not in September when the term does.

Related

Families looking at this also look at these

Exam

A-Level tutors

Where the board decides whether a weak paper costs one unit or a whole stage.

 Exam

British curriculum

Year 1 to Year 13, and the years nobody marks from outside.

 Exam prep

Primary and middle school

Years 1 to 9 across all five curricula, before any exam board arrives.

 Pricing

What a lesson costs

Every rate by school level, on the Commitment and the Flexible plans, VAT included.

IGCSEs won't wait. Neither should you.

Lessons run online or in person across Dubai.

Book your first lesson