International qualification · 4SD0From £39.99/mo paying todayInternational GCSE Science (Double Award) is the Pearson Edexcel 4SD0 qualification that gives you two GCSE-size grades, from 9-9 to 1-1, for one course. Biology, chemistry and physics are examined in three 2-hour written papers, with practical skills tested on paper, not in a laboratory. Lift College teaches it online with a named UK tutor over 18 to 24 months.
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| Qualification | International GCSE Science (Double Award) |
|---|---|
| Level | Level 1/2, double award, grades 9-9 to 1-1 |
| Awarding body | Pearson Edexcel |
| Exams | Exam entry and seat booking are through Tutors & Exams, and only on the +Exams plan. |
| Price | £359.99 a year or £39.99 a month when you pay today: pay for 9 months, get 3 free, price fixed for life. Prefer to try it first? Free for 7 days, then £44.99 a month or £458.99 a year. |
| Typical duration | 18 to 24 months, or faster if you study more each week |
| Age | Open to anyone aged 14 or over. Under 18s enrol with a parent or guardian's permission and support. |
| Who it suits | You need two science GCSE grades for college, an apprenticeship, teacher training or a health care course, and want them from one course rather than three. |
Start today with your named UK tutor from day one. 14-day money-back guarantee, or try it free.
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There is no course fee to find, no finance agreement to sign and no debt to worry about. Your first 7 days are free, then you pay for the month you are in, and every payment is covered by the 14-day money back guarantee. Prefer to pay today? Skip the trial and save up to 17%, with your price fixed for life, with the same 14-day guarantee.
+Exams on Monthly: Monthly comes with a 9-month expected term because exam fees are built in. Cancel any time, no exit fee; exam credit you have not used is forfeited and unbooked exams are void. Pay annually and no term applies.
You never sign a credit agreement with us, so there is no debt and nothing for anyone to chase. If you stop paying, you simply stop studying. No finance company, no loan and no letters.
The hardest part of studying an International GCSE outside school has always been the exam. Lift College and Tutors & Exams remove it: you study online with us, and you sit the same Pearson Edexcel papers as any school candidate at a professional Tutors & Exams centre, with your entry, venue and invigilation arranged through the partnership.
Runs in January. A full series at the start of the year, useful if you finish the course over the winter or need a resit.
Runs from May to June. The main series, where most learners sit their papers.
Runs in November. Another full series each year, useful for a resit or if you finish the course in the autumn.
On +Exams we enter you before Pearson's deadline for the series you choose.
Start your free trial, meet your named UK tutor and work through the Pearson Edexcel specification at your own pace.
On +Exams, Lift College submits your Pearson Edexcel entry and books your place at the Tutors & Exams centre you choose, before the entry deadline.
Trained invigilators, a room built for formal assessment, and a Pearson Edexcel certificate identical to a school candidate's.
There is no minimum study time. Most learners spend 6 to 8 hours a week and finish in 18 to 24 months, or faster if you study more each week. Assignments are for feedback and do not count towards your grade.
There is no laboratory practical work and no coursework. Experimental skills in all three sciences are examined through written questions, so the whole Double Award can be studied from home apart from the exam days themselves.
| Aspect | This international course | GCSE Combined Science |
|---|---|---|
| Practical work | None in a laboratory. Questions on the practical investigations appear in the written papers. | 21 required practicals expected to be carried out in a school laboratory, with questions on them in the exams. |
| Tiers | One tier. The same three papers cover every grade from 9-9 to 1-1. | Foundation tier or Higher tier papers. |
| Papers | Three papers, one per science, 2 hours and 110 marks each. | Six papers, two per science, 1 hour 15 minutes each. |
| Exam series | January, June and November. | May/June only. |
| UK regulator's register | Not listed. An international qualification from Pearson Edexcel, a UK awarding body. | Listed. |
Need the UK version instead? See GCSE Combined Science →
Every family studying with us can have its own parent portal. See how your child is getting on week by week, agree a study plan together and get a short summary in your inbox, without ever having to ask "have you done any work?".
The Pearson Edexcel 4SD0 specification covers the Paper 1 content of International GCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics, examined in three written papers, one per science. Open each content area to see what it covers.
Three equally weighted papers, 2 hours and 110 marks each
Most learners take biology, then chemistry, then physics, with your tutor marking exam style questions at the end of every section.
Before entry you sit full timed mocks of all three papers with written feedback.
On +Exams your entry and your seat at a Tutors & Exams centre are booked for you and the fees are included.
Three written papers, one in each science, taken in the same exam series on a single tier. Each paper is 2 hours, 110 marks and worth one third of the qualification, giving 330 marks in total. Questions include multiple choice, short answer, calculations and extended writing, and experimental skills are examined on paper. A calculator is allowed on every paper. Results are reported as a double grade from 9-9 to 1-1. There is no laboratory assessment and no coursework.
| Paper | Length | Marks | Weighting | Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1B Biology | 2 hours | 110 marks | 33.3% | All five biology sections. Calculator allowed. |
| Paper 1C Chemistry | 2 hours | 110 marks | 33.3% | All four chemistry sections. Calculator allowed. |
| Paper 1P Physics | 2 hours | 110 marks | 33.3% | All eight physics sections. Calculator allowed. |
The same qualified UK subject expert supports you from enrolment through to your exam series.
Exam style tasks with individual written feedback within 5 to 7 working days.
Unit scores and topic strengths on your dashboard, which your tutor uses to tailor feedback.
A timed mock paper and a written summary of what to focus on before you are entered.
Pay today, pay for 9 months and get 3 free, with your price fixed for life. Pay monthly and start today for £5 a month less than after a trial. Prefer to try it first? Start for £0 today on the 7-day free trial.
| Study | +Exams | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay today, yearlyBest value3 months free, fixed for life | £359.99 a yearthat is £30.00 a month | £809.99 a yearthat is £67.50 a month |
| Pay today, monthly£5 a month less than after a trial | £39.99 a month | £89.99 a month |
| 7-day free trial first£0 today, first payment on day 8 | £44.99 a monthor £458.99 a year | £99.99 a monthor £1,019.99 a year |
+Exams paid monthly has an expected term of 9 months, as exam fees are built in: cancel any time with no exit fee, but unused exam credit is lost. No term applies if you pay yearly.
NEC, ICS Learn and CloudLearn charge £460 to £765 for the course, paid in full or in instalments. With Lift College you can start for £0 today, and a full year of Study is £359.99 when you pay today.
| Provider | Course fee | How you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Lift College Lowest cost to start | £359.99for 12 months, Study, paid today | £0 today on the 7-day free trial. Monthly or yearly, no contract, no credit check, cancel any time |
| NEC | £765 | In full, or a £76.50 deposit then 0% APR finance with Omni |
| ICS Learn | £460 | In full, or a £70 deposit then £65 a month for 6 months, interest free, subject to status |
| CloudLearn | £460 | In full, or monthly instalments |
Our Study plan does not include exams.
Learner reviews
Six of our latest reviews, as posted on Trustpilot.
Lift College is very flexible, allowing me to study GCSE Biology while working full time. The course is straightforward and include helpful tips for passing the exams.
I have just enrolled with Lift College today on a free trial. So far so good, I have accessed my course (GCSE Maths) on my platform and everything looks great. Also met my tutor who is very friendly and helpful too. Will update the reviews when I am further down the line.
Read more on TrustpilotI have enrolled on this on line course and the support/response to queries that I have received to date have been timely and effective. The college also provides a learning plan to comlete the course and mock exams, together with helpful reminders of allocated study days (you self select them and they send you a reminder to keep you on track). The modules are clear and easy to understand and a broken down into sections including question and answer sections and model answers and where applicable worked out calculations. There is a need to take notes from the online materials as there are no PDF work books to download. The assigments are completed in a text box and marked accordingly and saved into your records. Once you get used to using the learning portal (which is not too difficult) it is a fairly straightforward learning process. It is worth paying the money for this course and the level of support provided by the college.
Read more on TrustpilotI have been studying with Lift College for the past month, and so far, my experience has been positive. The team provides excellent support, and assignments are marked with helpful feedback, usually within three working days. This quick turnaround is particularly valuable as it helps me manage my studies alongside my workplace commitments.
Read more on TrustpilotExcellent customer service and the enrolment process was very smooth. Started my course three weeks ago and I’m loving it.
I recently started the CMI Level 5 course through Lift College. I was attracted to this provider due to the clean and modern design of their website. I asked the support staff a few questions before enrolling, and their responses were fast and informative. When I started the course, I was impressed by how well organised the material was and how the lessons were structured. I have taken many online courses before, including postgraduate courses from UK universities. What I expected was a few videos made using a webcam, plus several dozen PDF files that had to be read. However, the materials provided by Lift College are of excellent quality, well designed, and purpose-made. As a teacher myself with 20 years' experience, I recognised clear and deliberate efforts to help students learn more effectively. Lift College isn't just giving you a load of reading material and letting you get on with it. They have designed prompts, revision boxes, spot quizzes, and other features to ensure that learning is actively facilitated.
Read more on TrustpilotIt is at the same level (graded 9 to 1) and sat by learners in international schools worldwide as well as in the UK. It is set and marked by Pearson Edexcel, a UK awarding body. Universities, colleges and employers treat International GCSE grades as equivalent to GCSE grades for entry purposes, but always check the specific requirements of the course or employer you have in mind.
Open to anyone aged 14 or over. Under 18s enrol with a parent or guardian's permission and support. There are no formal entry qualifications.
You receive a double grade, for example 7-6, which counts as two GCSE-size qualifications. It is the international equivalent of GCSE Combined Science and is the usual way to cover all three sciences without taking three separate qualifications.
No. Unlike the UK GCSE, there are no required practicals to complete in a school laboratory. Each science lists practical investigations, and the written papers ask about their method, apparatus, results and evaluation. You learn them through video demonstrations and real data in the course.
The Double Award covers the core content of each science in one paper per subject and gives you two grades. The separate International GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics each add a second paper of further content and give three grades. If you plan to take a science at A Level or International A Level, the separate science in that subject is the stronger preparation.
Yes, on every paper. You need a scientific calculator. Calculators with symbolic algebra, text retrieval or QWERTY keyboards are not allowed.
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Science (Double Award) is examined in January, June and November. All three papers are sat in the same series. On +Exams we enter you and book your seat at one of the Tutors & Exams centres for the series you are ready for.
At one of the ten Tutors & Exams centres across England. Use the centre finder to see your nearest. If you are outside the UK you would need to travel to a centre for the exam series.
A UK adviser calls you back within 2 working hours, Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm. No sales script.
