IGCSE History Tutoring, Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel
IGCSE History is not a memory test: questions ask why something happened, how far something changed or how significant someone was, and a narrative of events answers none of them. Both boards also set source work, where students must weigh evidence rather than simply quote it.
Short answer
IGCSE History is offered online, one-to-one.
A private lesson runs 90 minutes and starts at USD 95 per lesson; lessons are booked singly or in packages.
No group class runs for this exam.
From USD 95 per lesson
- Structure shown for Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel
- Live online lessons of 90 minutes
- From USD 95 per lesson
How IGCSE History is assessed, board by board
2 awarding bodies examine this subject, and they do not examine it the same way: different papers, different weightings, different practical arrangements. Find your board — it is printed on your school's timetable and on past papers — and read that block. Nothing on this page describes one board's paper as though it applied to all of them.
Cambridge International
Cambridge IGCSE History (0470)
| Component | Share of grade | Length | Marks | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Structured Questions | 40% | 2 hours | 60 marks | structured questions and essay |
| Paper 2: Document Questions | 30% | 1 hour 45 min | 40 marks | source evaluation |
| Component 3: Coursework — One assignment; an alternative to Paper 4 | 30% | Assessed in school | — | coursework |
| Paper 4: Alternative to Coursework — For schools that do not enter for coursework | 30% | 1 hour | 40 marks | source evaluation and essay |
- Paper 2 sets its document questions on a prescribed topic that changes by examination year. Practising on a past paper from the wrong year trains source technique on content that this year’s candidates will not be asked about, which is worth knowing before buying a revision guide.
Checked on 22 September 2026
Pearson Edexcel
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1)
| Component | Share of grade | Length | Marks | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Depth Studies — Two depth studies from a published list | 50% | 1 hour 30 min | 60 marks | source evaluation and essay |
| Paper 2: Investigation and Breadth Studies | 50% | 1 hour 30 min | 60 marks | source evaluation and essay |
- Pearson does not tier this subject: every candidate sits the same papers and every grade is reachable from them. That removes the entry-tier decision entirely, which is one of the practical differences between the two boards.
- Two papers, no coursework and no alternative-to-coursework paper. The options are chosen by the school from a published list, so "IGCSE History" tells a tutor almost nothing until the options are named.
Checked on 22 September 2026
Cambridge International and Pearson Edexcel are the two IGCSE boards covered here. Some schools use OxfordAQA International GCSEs, which are examined differently again; if that is your board, tell us on the intro call and we will confirm tutor availability for your specification before you book.
What IGCSE History covers
The syllabus areas most boards share. Which ones appear, in what order and on which paper differs by board and by specification code — your own specification is the final word. Topic names are left in English, as they appear on the paper.
Nineteenth-century nation states and empires
Revolution and nationalism in Europe · The unification of Italy · The unification of Germany · Overseas empires in the nineteenth century · The origins of the First World War
International relations since 1919
The peace settlement after the First World War · The League of Nations · The road to the Second World War · The origins of the Cold War · Superpower relations and containment · Soviet control of Eastern Europe
Germany, 1918–45
The Weimar Republic and its crises · Hitler’s rise to power · Establishing the Nazi dictatorship · Life in Nazi Germany
Russia and the USSR
The collapse of Tsarist rule in 1917 · The Bolshevik seizure and consolidation of power · Stalin’s rise and hold on power · Collectivisation, industrialisation and the purges
The United States between the wars
The economic boom of the 1920s · Social change in the 1920s · The Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression · Roosevelt and the New Deal
Historical skills
Analysing and evaluating sources · Explaining causes and consequences · Assessing significance · Reaching a supported judgement
Where IGCSE History marks are usually lost
Describing when the question asks why
Many questions ask why something happened or how far a statement is true, and many students answer with an accurate story. An answer on why the Weimar Republic faced crises needs causes, each explained and linked to the outcome; a “how far” question needs a conclusion that weighs factors against each other. Detailed narrative without an argument stays in the lower levels of the mark scheme.
Reading sources for information only
Source questions reward an inference about what a source shows, a view of its message or purpose, and a judgement about its usefulness or reliability based on its content, author and context. Paraphrasing a source, or dismissing it as biased without saying why, misses most of the credit. Cambridge sets its document paper on a prescribed topic that changes each series, so knowing that topic well matters.
Ignoring the time frame in the question
Many questions are tied to a period: one of Cambridge’s key questions asks why Hitler was able to dominate Germany by 1934, so later events earn nothing there, however accurate. Students who write everything they know about Stalin when the question covers only his rise to power use time without gaining marks. Marking the dates and the key concept before planning prevents this.
IGCSE History coursework
Coursework is offered only by Cambridge, as an alternative to Paper 4, and the school decides whether to use it; Pearson’s History has none. The Cambridge assignment is one extended essay answering a single question about the significance of an individual, group, organisation, development, place or event. It can come from a syllabus depth study or from one the school devises, for example on the history of a country the syllabus does not cover, provided it avoids the Core content. Sources are referenced in footnotes and a bibliography. A tutor teaches significance arguments on other examples and explains the criteria; Cambridge allows only brief comments on drafts.
A tutor can explain the criteria, question a draft and point to what is weak. The research, the writing and every decision in it stay the student’s own, as the awarding body’s rules require.
How we teach IGCSE History
A tutor starts by identifying the exact options: for Cambridge, the Core option, the depth study and the prescribed topic for the student’s exam series; for Pearson, the two depth studies, the historical investigation and the breadth study in change. Content is then taught as a chain of causes and consequences, with a timeline the student builds and keeps. Every lesson includes exam writing — a short explanation one week, a sustained “how far” judgement the next — and source work on contemporary material from the period studied. Answers are marked against the published levels so the student sees what lifts a response from description to analysis. In the final weeks, lessons concentrate on the prescribed source topic or the chosen options rather than on the whole course.
There is no separate diagnostic, because there is no single test that stands in for two years of a school syllabus. The first lesson is the assessment: the tutor works through your recent marked work, past-paper questions from your own specification, and the units your school has already covered, and reads current level, gaps, exam technique and where school work stands. It is a normal paid lesson and it teaches as it assesses.
Related subjects and pages
IGCSE Geography
IGCSE Geography lessons online for Cambridge 0460 and Pearson Edexcel 4GE1: physical and human topics, named examples, map and graph skills, fieldwork.
IGCSE Literature in English
IGCSE English Literature lessons online for Cambridge 0475 and Pearson Edexcel 4ET1: set poetry, prose and drama, unseen texts and clearly argued essays.
IGCSE Sociology
IGCSE Sociology tutoring online for Cambridge 0495: research methods, the research plan, source questions, two-sided essays on family, education and crime.
IGCSE Tutoring
Online IGCSE tutoring for Cambridge IGCSE and Pearson Edexcel International GCSE: tiers, papers, practicals by board, first-lesson assessment.
IGCSE prices
IGCSE tutoring from USD 95 per 90-minute lesson. Compare lesson packages and included materials.
IGCSE History: reviews from our students
Students and parents who prepared with us write these reviews themselves. We check each one before publishing it and never change its words or its star rating.
Nobody has reviewed this programme here yet. If you prepared with us, tell other students across Africa how it went.
Frequently asked questions
Short, direct answers. If yours is not here, ask us.
Talk to us about IGCSE History
Tell us your board or level, your predicted grade and when you sit it. We will tell you honestly whether you need a tutor, and which one.