IGCSE Physics (2026 exam) – Term 5

Course Overview

This course covers content for the Edexcel IGCSE Physics specification. It is a two-year course and does not require any prior knowledge. However, if KS3 Physics or Maths has not already covered, it can be challenging, especially in the first term. This course uses the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE(9-1) Physics Student Book (ISBN 9780435185275). This textbook must be procured in advance.

Course Method

The lessons are live, interactive sessions where questions may be asked. Students need the textbook, a book to write in, pencils, pens etc., and a scientific calculator. Zoom is used for the lessons and with cameras turned off. The lessons are not usually recorded.

Students need to be willing to work hard, to not disrupt the lesson, and to be respectful towards the teacher and other students.

Homework is set each week. Usually, the homework is to study the pages in the textbook in advance of studying them together in the next lesson and consolidating what was learnt in the previous lesson. By working in this way, students can study the pages at their own pace so that everyone arrives at each lesson already somewhat familiar with the material in the book.

The lessons go over the content from the prepared pages. Usually this is done with the help of additional online resources. The teacher explains the harder concepts, and often works through questions with the whole class. Students can opt out of being asked questions, but most students discover that in the safe environment of the lesson they don’t mind getting an answer wrong or saying that they don’t know an answer.

The weekly homework email contains links to any online resources which were used in the previous lesson. Students should use this to consolidate what was covered in the lesson. Some of the science videos contain interactive questions at the end, which are automatically marked. As part of the consolidation process, students should ensure that they can answer these questions correctly.

The teacher of this course does not mark homework, believing that it is much better for the students to mark their own work from mark schemes, which are provided. This gives the students immediate feedback on anything they have got wrong so that they can then work out how to get the correct answer or improve their answer. For the longer questions they can check which points gain marks and also make notes of points which they missed. This method of working allows students to monitor their own progress and ensure that they have mastered each topic. It requires a certain maturity on the part of the students, but home-educated students should be capable of this. Learning to assess one’s own work and progress is excellent training for university and real life.

Course Details

Term 5 covers radioactivity and astrophysics. It comprises 12 weekly lessons. Each lesson lasts one hour.

This PX Classroom is held on Wednesdays at 9.30am (London time zone) starting from Wednesday 7th January 2026. There will be no lesson on 18th February during the half-term break. The last lesson is due to be on 1st April 2026.